' SYED MEHMOOD ALAM RIZVI, J.---Petitioner filed this petition with the following prayers:--
(a) To declare that the interview held on 16-7-2007 for the appointment of Project Director is mala fide and may very kindly be declared null and void and the respondents may very kindly be directed to hold the fresh interview while affording the opportunity to attend the said interview.
(b) The cost of the petition may very kindly be borned by the respondents Nos.1 and 2.
(c) Any other relief or relief which this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case, may also be granted to the petitioner, in the best interest of justice."
2. Briefly, the facts of the case are that the petitioner is a retired person from Service of the Livestock Department, Government of Sindh. The respondent No,2 advertised for the post of 'Project Director' for the National Programme for the Control of Prevention of Avian Influenza Scheme for three years with certain qualifications and experience in the relevant field. As a result, the petitioner applied for the said post through his CV along with details of his qualifications and annexed certificates/letters of his experience, but the respondent No,2 had not even bothered to call the petitioner for an interview, and is said to have appointed another person to the post.
3. Conversely, Mrs. Sofia Saeed Shah, learned Standing Counsel, has !Contended that the petitioner did not have the desired requisites, relevant experience and appropriate background for management or for the implementation of large development projects/programmes relating to Livestock/Poultry Health, thus could not qualify to even be called for an interview. She further contended that whereas the certificates, awards and other documentary evidence were produced by the petitioner, which were awarded to him by the U.S.A. And Iraqi Governments, the petitioner, however, did not attach any documentary evidence in support of his experience claimed. She has further contended that the other documents attached with the application of the petitioner and the documents filed with the petition includes a letter from the Secretary, Livestock and Fisheries, Government of Sindh indicating broadly the duties performed by the officer having little relevancy to desired experience required for the post in question. That even the accepting- of resignation letter issued by Government of Saudi Arabia. ,Ministry of Agriculture and Water, Directorate of Agriculture and Water, Wadi Al Dawasir, and filed by the petitioner, is silent about the job performed during his service.
4. That leaned Standing Counsel further contended that the shortlisted candidates fulfilling the laid down criteria in the advertisement were called for interview. She further contended that the petitioner did not submit evidence of 10 years of Project Management experience along with his application, therefore, the Short Listing Committee unanimously decided that the petitioner was not eligible to be shortlisted or called for an interview.
5. We have heard both the lawyers and perused the record of this case.
6. That to decide the above petition firstly the contents of the advertisement have to be gone through. The basic requirements are mentioned as under:--
(i) Education qualification and experience: M.A. Degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or Animal Husbandry/Social Sciences/Management with basic Degree of DVM/AH.
(ii) 10 years' experience with appropriate background in Management or Implementation of Large Development Projects or Programmes relevant to Livestock/Poultry Health in addition to overall service experience of 17 years with leadership qualities and to manage and monitor mega projects, ability to manage multidisciplinary team of professionals and a logical approach to designed specialist monitory and evaluation tools to ensure the desired feedback at various stages of project implementation and efficient and effective use of available recourses and experience of work in or with Government organization and working or/knowledge of computer would be preferred.
(iii) Age: 45 to 65 years.
7. That the aforesaid committee shortlisted 8 persons out of 60 applicants, among them 7 were doctors and one was Principal Scientific Officer/Director General having Ph.D., while one was a Consultant for the Livestock Programme Project Coordinator, P.M. Live Project and N.R.S.P. He was also a qualified M.Sc. Form Australia. All the above persons have a total experience ranging between 26 to 40 years whereas Project Management experience was 6 years to 25 years and their ages were between 50 to 62 years. Among them, under Notification dated 19th September, 2007, Dr. Muhammad Akram Munir has joined his duties as Project Director w,e,f, 17-9-2007. His, qualifications are as under:-- "Professor of Microbiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore Ph.D. In (Microbiology) age 59 years having 10 years experience in project management and total experience was 36 years."
' Whilst, compared to the petitioner he possesses following criteria. He was Director (Retd.) Avian Influenza Specialist, age 64 years (in September, 2007), M.Sc. (Honours), D.L.D. Australia. Total experience 37 years, Project Management experience 'Nil', while related field experience 'Positive'.
8. We have gone through all the documents placed on record by the petitioner and we have put a specific question to the Advocate for the petitioner as to whether he was in possession of any document showing that the petitioner had any experience in Project Management. The reply was in the 'negative'. The petitioner tried to convince this Court that in the relevant field the petitioner had very good experience, but failed to produce single document in support of his argument.
9. We are not convinced with the arguments of the learned counsel for the petitioner as it was specific and clear in the advertisement that the relevant experience required was 10 years, but the petitioner has no such experience, while the applicant who had been notified, namely Dr. Muhammad Akram Munir, was a suitable person and well-qualified, and further, that he was a Ph.D.
In Microbiology, with 10 years experience of Project Management and his age was also 59 years, therefore, suitably qualified. In such circumstances, the petition is hereby dismissed in limine.