Constitutional Court Orders Public Disclosure of Government Employees’ Seniority Lists

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that seniority lists of government employees cannot be kept hidden and must be published on official websites of all public institutions.

Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi issued the written verdict, directing all government departments, autonomous bodies and corporations to update their seniority lists every January.

The court ruled that the seniority of employees recruited through the same batch must be determined according to their merit positions in the recruitment list, rather than on a “first come, first served” basis.

According to the judgment, arbitrary reliance on joining dates is against the principles of fair public administration. The court stated that access to seniority list information is a constitutional and fundamental right of every citizen and employee.

The Federal Constitutional Court further observed that unlawful conditions included in employment contracts cannot override or eliminate employees’ legal rights. The court also ordered copies of the verdict to be sent immediately to the chief secretaries of all four provinces for implementation.

Expressing serious concern over the failure to issue a seniority list even seven years after regularization of employees, the court criticized Port Qasim Authority for administrative negligence.

The court directed all public and semi-public institutions to revise seniority lists immediately after new recruitment, promotions or regularization of employees.

The ruling came while allowing the appeal of pilot Captain Muhammad Ali Khan regarding his seniority dispute. The court declared an earlier decision of the Sindh High Court illegal and also struck down the controversial seniority list issued by Port Qasim Authority.

The court ordered Port Qasim Authority to issue a fresh and correct seniority list without delay.

According to the judgment, despite securing merit, the petitioner had been declared junior merely because he joined service one day later than other candidates.

The court clarified that for employees recruited under the same advertisement and batch, seniority must be determined by merit ranking rather than date of joining. It added that departments cannot manipulate seniority by issuing joining letters at different times after recommendations by selection committees.

The verdict further stated that demoting employees in seniority based on joining dates violates constitutional guarantees of equality.

The court noted that employees are generally given seven days to join service, and joining earlier or later within that period should not affect seniority status.

It also observed that job seekers often accept harsh employment conditions due to fear of unemployment, and departments cannot exploit that vulnerability to bypass legal principles.

The Federal Constitutional Court concluded that the Sindh High Court had incorrectly applied principles from earlier judicial precedents in the case.