FCC rejects Balochistan govt plea for lifetime facilities to retired chief secretaries, widows

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Saturday rejected a plea by the Balochistan government to grant lifetime facilities to retired chief secretaries and their widows. Justice Aamer Farooq, who headed the FCC two-judge bench, observed that the Balochistan government notification was over and above the pensionary benefits granted to chief secretaries. The judgment explained that the Rules of Business do not empower the provincial government to issue such directions by way of notification, especially when there was no legal backing. The FCC ruling came on an appeal filed by Balochistan’s chief secretary against the May 29, 2023, Balochistan High Court (BHC) judgment, which had also struck down Notification No. 13-25(5)/2019/SO-1(S&GAD) extending lifetime facilities to retired chief secretaries and their widows. The controversy arose from a notification challenged before the BHC by Bayazid Khan Kharooti, which the court accepted. The high court held that such benefits could not be granted without legal backing in law, rules or regulations, adding that entitlements for retired civil servants must be clearly provided in legislation or policy and cannot be created through a mere executive notification. While deciding the case, Justice Farooq observed that the high court’s reasoning did not suffer from any legal or jurisdictional defect warranting FCC interference; consequently, leave to appeal was refused. “Any action, of whatever nature, must be firmly rooted in law and must be traceable to a legal source from which it derives its authority,” observed Justice Farooq adding this principle constitutes the fundamental affirmation of the constitutionality of our system of governance. Justice Farooq observed that a careful review of the Balochistan Rules of Business, 2012, does not support the extension of perks and privileges to the chief secretary. On the contrary, Rule 3(4) delineates the structure and composition of the government of Balochistan by distrib