JUSTICE (R:) MANSOOR ALAMGIR QAZI, MEMBER --- The Petitioner/Appellant was through notice dated 12.7.2006 informed by the Deputy Registrar of the Tribunal that the instant appeal stood abated in view of the recent judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of Pakistan in Civil Appeals No. 722 816/2005 dated 27.5.2006.
2. Feeling aggrieved the Petitioner/Appellant has filed the present M.P. With the prayer that notice of abatement may either be withdrawn or set aside and the appeal be fixed for hearing. The Petitioner/Appellant has appeared in person and voiced his grievance and has reiterated his prayer.
3. The background is that when the petitioner was in employment of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, Lahore the respondent Office order No. SN/AF/KW/11/91 dated 20.3.1996 fixed the presumptive pay of the petitioner as admissible to him then for the period from 23.2.1995 to 1.12.1995 and onwards. Later, the respondent/ Company again on 4.1996 issued Notification No. SN/ABKW/27, dated 20.3.1996 whereby the Petitioner/Appellant who was officiating as A.E./Staff (North), LTR, Lahore was struck OF the strength w.e.f. 6.4.2006 and to retire from service on attaining the age of 60 years.
4. The Petitioner/Appellant on 18.9.2001 approached the respondents for further revision of his presumptive pay in the backdrop of Memorandum dated 1st March, 2001, but the same was declined vide letter dated 1.7.2003 against which he preferred appeal No. 439(L)(C/S)/2003'which was disposed of on .22.6.2004, with the following observations:- "The grievance of the appellant is that he was not '_______ . To the post of EngineeringSupervisor -________________ consider his claim in the light of Memorandum dated 1st March, 2001 which was issued in pursuance of judgment of the Tribunal dated 23.02.2000 passed in appeal Nos.
332(R)1999, 333(R)1999, 334(R)1999, 335(R)1999 and 336(R)1999."
5. Thereafter, the petitioner/appellant approached the President of the respondent company through petition dated 40.6.2004, and 8.9.2004 who, vide order dated 21.9.2004, did not accede to the said request. Once again feeling aggrieved he preferred the instant appeal on 23.10.2001 to voice his grievance before this Tribunal which Was awaiting final decision when apex Court judgment dated27.6.2006 was gone ahead in various causes, as referred in the paragraph above.
6. On the other hand the learned counsel for the respondents has contended that Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation came into being in the year 1991 and all the T&T Department employees were amalgamated therein. The learned counsel for the respondents has drawn our attention to Sections 9 &10 of the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Act XVIII of 1991, dated 27.11.1991, which reads as follows:- "Transfer of departmental employee to the Corporation-(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, contract or agreement or. In the conditions of service all departmental employees shall on the establishment or the Corporation, stand transferred to and become employees of the corporation on the same terms and conditions to which they were entitled immediately before such transfer providedthat the Corporation shall be competent to take disciplinary action against any such employee.
(2) The terms arid conditions of service of any such person as is referred to sub-section (1) shall not be varied by the Corporation to his disadvantage.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in. Any law for the time being in place no person who stands transferred to the Corporation by virtue of sub-section (1) shall be entitled to any compensation because of such transfer.
10. - Chairman, etc. To be public servants - (1) The Chairman, Directors, officers and servants of the Corporation shall, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of this ordinance, be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section s of the Pakistan Penal Code, XLV of 1860.
(2) No suit prosecution or legal proceedings shall lie against the Corporation, in respect of anything done or intended to be done in good faith under this Ordinance.
He has further referred to Section 7 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, XVII of 1996, dated 17.10.1996 with regard to forum of appear for such employees and the same is being reproduced as under:- "Appeal and revision - (1) A person aggrieved by any decision or order of the Authority on the ground that it is necessary to the provision of this Ordinance may, within thirty days of the receipt of such decision or order, appeal to the High Court the manner prescribed by the High Court for filing the first appeal before the Court.
(2) A person aggrieved by any decision or order of any officer or the Authority acting under the delegated power of the Authority may within Thirty days of the receipt of the decision or order appeal to the Authority in prescribed manner.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (2) any person aggrieved by the decision or order of the Authority may instead of filing an appeal under that subsection Within, thirty days of such decision or order make an application for a revision of the decision or as the case may be prefer to the Federal Government, through the Secretary, Ministry of Communications, Government of Pakistan.
(4) The Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette make rules for enforcement of the provisions of this section including the grounds on which any appeal or revision may be preferred.According to him, vide amending Act No. XVII of 1997, dated 10-.6 1997. Section 2-A was made a part and parcel of the Service Tribunals Act, 1973, whereby such, employees were deemed to be civil servants but now, with the recent judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of Pakistan in Civil Appeals No. 792 to 816/2006 and other dated 27.6.2006, we in the Federal Service Tribunal have no authority whatsoever with us to even touch the judgment afore-referred with the longest of tongs.
Moreover, by virtue of Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organization) Act, 1996 the said Corporation was converted into four public limited Companies, one of which is Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and the appellant continued in service of PTCL till 6.4.1996. PTCL was registered under Companies Ordinance 1984 and its shares were floated in the Stock Market. Further, PTCL now stands privatized by the Government of Pakistan and its shares as also its management stand handed over to a foreign Company.
77 Even the documents placed by the Petitioner/Appellant on record, reflect positively that he was on the strength of PTCL till his retirement, his presumptive pay had been fixed by the Company and, for a further revision of his presumptive pay, he has. Been sending petitions to the PTCL authorities, his retirement notification has been issued by the said Company and, therefore, for all intents and purposes, he is/was a company employee. Furthermore, there is nothing on record to show that the appellant had ever complained against his serving under the said Company.
8. The instant abated appeal filed to voice appellant's grievances, is confined to the impugned order passed by the Competent Authority in the PTCL way back in the year 2004.
9. In the light of the above situation, we conclude that in terms of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of Pakistan in Civil Appeals No. 793 to 816/2005, dated 27.6.2006 the instant appeal stands abated by operation of law w.e.f. 27.6.2006.
10. No order as to Costs.
11. Parties be informed.