SHC hints at contempt action in lecturers' promotion case

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has hinted at the contempt of court action against senior government officers including the provincial chief secretary and others in a case related to grant promotion and time scale to lecturers, ARY News reported on Friday.

The Sindh High Court’s judge Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar heard the petition against the Sindh government for not granting scale and promotions to more than 10,000 professors and lecturers.

Advocate General and other senior government officials have appeared in today’s hearing. The advocate general told the court that the matter was included in the agenda of a forthcoming provincial cabinet meeting on December 24.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked that the court will issue show-cause notices if the matter was left unresolved. He added that the court will take contempt of court action against Sindh chief secretary and other officials over neglecting the orders.

Read: Sindh govt given deadline for granting time scale, promotion to lecturers

“What will happen after sending our officers behind bars?” questioned the advocate general.

Justice Mazhar remarked, “Your officers are using delaying tactics and they will definitely face action for not following the court’s directives. I hope that the advocate general of Sindh will not defend the officers. You should order secretary colleges to comply with the court orders, otherwise, they should be prepared to face action.”

The advocate general responded that he wants to assure the court that the government will discuss the matter in its provincial cabinet meeting.

Justice Mazhar said that the court was going to retain its contempt of court notice till the next hearing. He hinted at taking action against the responsible persons if the court orders were violated.

Later, the high court’s judge summoned the progress report from the Sindh advocate general on January 19 and adjourned the hearing.

Earlier on December 9, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had given a deadline to the Sindh government for granting time scale and promotion to 10,000 lecturers.