ISLAMABAD: The appointment of Nargis Sethi as aviation division secretary in place of Mohammad Ali Gardezi caught the attention of the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Mr Gardezi, who was appointed secretary of the newly-created aviation division by the PML-N government on June 27, was posted out as secretary of the inter-provincial coordination division on Sept 10 under the signature of secretary to the prime minister Nasir Mehmood Khosa, an officer who himself is retiring on Friday.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry which had taken up a case regarding delay in construction of the New Benazir Bhutto International Airport said the transfer prima facie violated the court’s Nov 12, 2012 verdict in the Anita Turab case.
In that judgment, the apex court had held that civil servants should not be transferred from one department to another for political reasons without completing three years. Civil servants should not obey illegal orders of their superiors because they owed their first and foremost allegiance to the law and the constitution, it further said.
Earlier on July 25, adviser to the prime minister on aviation division Shujaat Azeem had to resign for having been court-martialled and holding Canadian nationality.
What perturbed the court most during Thursday’s proceedings was that the initial summary submitted for approval by the prime minister contained the names of three officers — Fareedullah Khan, Ahmedullah Khan and Mohammad Ahsan — and that no exceptional circumstances were cited for the transfer of Mr Gardezi to replace Fareedullah Khan who had been appointed as secretary of Capital Administration and Development Division.
It all started when Additional Attorney General Shahkhawar informed the court that Mr Gardezi had been transferred.
“He has been penalised,” the chief justice observed.
Mr Gardezi had on Aug 18 written a letter to the Federal Investigation Agency requesting it to investigate irregularities, increase in cost and delay in completion of the new airport project.
“We are not going to compromise because we believe our judgment in the Anita Turab case has been violated,” the chief justice said and suggested that notices be issued.
The court then summoned Attorney General Muneer A. Malik and asked him to suggest to whom the notices should be issued. The bench said it was deliberately exercising restraint.
The attorney general explained that there was no mala fide behind the posting of Mr Gardezi and the perception of the executive was that it was done in the best public interest because the officer had vast experience in the affairs of the inter-provincial coordination division.
The transfer should also not be misconstrued as a punishment because whatever actions or decision taken by Mr Gardezi had not been undone by the government, the AG said, adding that the Anita Turab case never barred the executive from transferring or posting civil servants.
“But no compelling reasons have been stated in the summary suggesting the transfer of Mr Gardezi,” observed Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, a member of the bench. He recalled that the inter-provincial coordination division was a new department created in 2010.
“So is the aviation division,” the AG said, adding that he was not aware of any rule or law which denuded the executive from the authority of transferring or posting civil servants other than on the touchstone of political considerations, exigencies or which smacked of mala fide.
“Why no-one but Mr Gardezi among a large number of grade 21 and 22 officers was picked for the inter-provincial coordination division,” Justice Jawwad asked.
The chief justice said no material was before the prime minister which suggested that transfer of Mr Gardezi would be in the best public interest.
The attorney general requested the court to grant him some time so that he could seek further instructions from the government and file an appropriate reply. He said the government could never think of violating any judgment of the court. However, he said the procedure for preparing the summary might not been done in a proper way.
But the court said it would wait till the AG got fresh instructions from the government.
The AG later informed the court that he had sent a message to the highest authority and again requested the court to adjourn the proceedings till Friday.
The court accepted the request with an observation that the AG would ensure that the matter was settled in accordance with the law.