ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Sindh Police officers whose seniority was altered in 2019, dismissing all appeals filed by the provincial government and declaring the move to revise their service standing unlawful.
A three-judge bench led by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar upheld an earlier verdict of the Sindh Service Tribunal, ruling that seniority, once lawfully restored, constitutes a protected service right and cannot be withdrawn without due legal process.
The ruling clears the way for affected officers to be considered for promotion, with the court stressing that seniority determines progression within the police service hierarchy.
The dispute centred on assistant sub-inspectors originally recruited in 1990 who were removed from service the following year during a period of political instability. In 1994, the then Inspector General of Sindh reinstated the officers, recognising their original dates of appointment, though without granting backdated financial benefits.
Despite this, the court noted, the provincial government revised the officers’ seniority in 2019, linking it to later appointment dates without issuing showcause notices or providing justification. The bench held that such action violated principles of fairness and due process.
The Sindh government had argued that the officers’ seniority should be counted from 1991 and 1992 rather than 1990, a position earlier rejected by the Sindh Service Tribunal. The Supreme Court affirmed that decision, ruling that the tribunal had acted within the law.
By dismissing the government’s appeals, the court reinforced that administrative authorities cannot retroactively downgrade service rights through executive action.
