LHC restores time-scale upgradation of four Punjab education officers

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has overturned the Punjab government’s decision to withdraw time-scale upgradation granted to four directors of physical education, holding that the officers were entitled to the benefit because of prolonged stagnation in service.

Justice Raheel Kamran announced the verdict while allowing writ petitions filed by Sultan Shahid and others against orders issued by the Punjab finance and higher education departments.

According to the judgment, the petitioners had been appointed as directors of physical education in BPS-16 through the Punjab Public Service Commission between 1987 and 1996. They were later moved to BPS-17 after obtaining higher qualifications.

In 2019, the Punjab government introduced a policy under which officers facing stagnation in service could receive time-scale promotion. Under that policy, the petitioners were given two-step upgradation from BPS-17 to BPS-18 and then BPS-19, with retrospective effect from February 2019.

However, the government withdrew those benefits in 2023, citing policy clarifications that restricted eligibility.

Court rejects jurisdiction objection

During the proceedings, the government argued that the matter related to promotion and therefore fell within the jurisdiction of the service tribunal under Article 212 of the Constitution.

Justice Kamran did not accept that objection. The judge held that time-scale promotion was, in substance, a personal upgradation rather than a promotion. Relying on precedents of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the court ruled that such disputes could be decided in constitutional jurisdiction and were not barred by Article 212.

Finding on stagnation

On the merits of the case, the court held that the petitioners had remained in BPS-17 for more than two decades and had reached the maximum stage of their pay scale, which clearly showed stagnation in service.

The judge observed that stagnation had to be assessed on the basis of actual career progression instead of merely looking at whether promotional posts existed.

The ruling said the petitioners fell within the category of officers holding stagnant posts under the 2019 policy and were therefore entitled to two time-scale upgradations.

Allowing the petitions, the court set aside the impugned orders and directed restoration of the petitioners’ upgradation along with all related financial benefits.

The court also restrained the government from initiating any recovery proceedings on the basis of the withdrawn benefits.

The case concerned four directors of physical education whose time-scale upgradation had first been granted under the 2019 Punjab government policy and later withdrawn by the authorities in 2023.