Supreme Court Sets Aside High Court Verdict on Jobs for Children of Deceased NBP Employees

Islamabad: The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside a High Court judgment regarding the employment of children of deceased employees of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and directed the bank’s president to decide the pending applications within three months.

Hearing the case, the Supreme Court ordered that applications submitted in 2019 and 2022 should be decided in accordance with the policy that was in force at the time the applications were filed. The court further instructed the NBP president to inform the applicants of the decisions within the stipulated timeframe.

The Supreme Court observed that applications from children of deceased employees had remained pending for years without any decision or response from the bank. The court ruled that the judgment in the General Post Office (GPO) case could not be applied retrospectively to past policies. It clarified that, as a principle, Supreme Court judgments apply prospectively, unless the court expressly states otherwise.

The court held that the 2011 policy was in force at the time when the applications were submitted and, therefore, the requests must be decided under that policy. It declared that failure to implement the applicable policy regarding the employment of children of deceased employees was contrary to the principles of fair administration.

Earlier, the Sindh High Court had dismissed the constitutional petitions filed by children of deceased NBP employees, relying on the Supreme Court’s ruling in the GPO case.

By setting aside the High Court decision, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that administrative authorities are bound to decide cases under the policies prevailing at the relevant time and cannot deny relief by applying later judicial interpretations retrospectively.