SYED MANSOOR ALI SHAH, J.---The petitioners were appointed as Veterinary Assistants by respondent No,2 vide order dated 31-8-2007 on the basis of an advertisement dated 29-7-2007 in daily "Nawa-e-Waqt" at serial No,2. The requirement for the appointment of Veterinary Assistant was matric along with one year diploma from the University of Veterinary Sciences, Lahore. Much to the surprise of the petitioners, the services of the petitioners were terminated with effect from 1-1- 2008 vide the impugned order dated 23-2-2008.
2. Counsel for the petitioners submits that vide the appointment order as per clause 6 of the terms and conditions the contract of the appointment shall be liable to termination on one month's notice or on payment of one month's salary in lieu thereof by either side without assigning any reason. Counsel submits that the impugned order has been passed without issuing notice as provided for in clause 6 of the terms and conditions of service.
3. Counsel for the respondents submits that the case of the petitioners is covered under clause 12 of the terms and conditions of service as given'' in the appointing order dated 31-8-2007. Clause 12 reads as follows:-- "if at any stage it is discovered that he obtained this appointment on the basis forged/bogus document or through deceit by any means, the appointment shall be considered to be void ab initio and he shall be liable to refund all amounts received from the Government as a consequence of appointment in addition to such other action as may be taken against employee under the law."
4. Counsel for the respondents submits that there was no requirement of notice and the department could move under clause 12 of the said terms and conditions.
5. Arguments heard record perused.
6. The posts of Veterinary Assistant were advertised by the respondent No,2 in daily "Pakistan"
Lahore dated 29-7-2007. The petitioners applied for the said posts along with their credentials including provisional certificates issued by the Livestock Services Training Centre and the Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Government of the Punjab, certifying that the petitioners have passed the Veterinary Assistant Course in the year, 2004. On the basis of the said documents the petitioners on the recommendations of the District Selection Promotion Committee were appointed on contract basis vide order dated 31-8-2007 and on the terms and conditions given in the said order. However, after almost six months of service vide impugned order dated 23-2-2008 respondent No,2 terminated the services of the petitioners without notice on the ground that the duration of the certificates of Veterinary Assistant Course had a duration of less than one year which was against the required qualification as advertised and as provided in the Service Rules.
The only question that needs consideration is whether due process as envisaged in the terms of the Contract and protected under Article 4 of the Constitution was applied by the respondents in terminating the services of petitioners.
7. Clause 6 of the terms and conditions of the appointment letter state:-- "Clause-6: Termination of Contract.--Contract of appointment shall be liable to termination on one month's notice or on payment of one month's salary in lieu thereof by either side without assigning any reason."
8. Admittedly no notice was issued to the petitioners under Clause 6 of the Agreement. In fact the impugned order dated 23-2-2008 takes effect from 1-1-2009, therefore, instead of granting one month's notice, E the services of the petitioners have been terminated retrospectively. The impugned order clearly violates the terms of the Contract. Reference is also made to paragraph 6(v) of the Recruitment Policy, 2004 dated 17-9-2004 issued by the Services and General Administration Department (Regulations Wing), Government of the Punjab, which states:-- "Terms and conditions of contract appointment shall be settled by the Administrative Department in consultation with the Finance Department in accordance with the provisions of prevailing contract appointment policy. However, in all contracts, it shall be clearly provided that the services of the contract employee are liable to be terminated on one month's notice, without assigning any reason."
9. Article 4 of the Constitution guarantees the petitioner an inalienable right to enjoy the protection of law and to be treated in accordance with law. "Law" in Article 4 includes the cardinal principle of natural justice. Article 4 is a loud and clear constitutional guarantee and reminder that every citizen and every person for the time being in Pakistan must enjoy the protection of law and be treated in accordance with law. Hamood ur Rehman, J. In Begum Agha Abdul Karim Shorish Kashmiri (PLD 1969 SC 14) while discussing Article 2 of the 1962 Constitution (same as Article 4 of the 1973 Constitution) said:-.
"Law is here not confined to statute law alone but is used in its generic sense as connoting all that is treated as law in this country including even the judicial principles laid down from time to time by the superior Courts....In this sense it is as comprehensive as the American "due process" clause in a new garb."
10. An integral, intrinsic and incidental part of "law" under Article 4 is the right to procedural due process, right to be treated fairly at all times, right to procedural fairness and right to procedural propriety. Right to a fair procedure is therefore constitutionally guaranteed in our country and makes our constitution stand out proudly in the constitutions of the world. Article 4 of our Constitution is a robust and dynamic amalgam of the cardinal principle of natural justice, procedural fairness and procedural propriety of the English Jurisprudence and Procedural Due process of the American jurisprudence. Our Constitution has boldly recognized this right to be an in alienable right of every citizen or of any other person for the time being in Pakistan. Reliance is placed upon re. Government of West Pakistan and another v. Begum Agha Abdul Karim Shorish Kashmiri PLD 1969 SC 14, re. New Jubliee Insurance Company Ltd. Karachi v. National Bank of Pakistan PLD 1999 SC 1126, re. Aftab Shahban Mirani v. President of Pakistan and others 1998 SCMR 1863 and re. Government of Pakistan v. Farheen Rashid 2009 PLC (C.S.) 966.
11. Removal of an employee from a public sector employment without due process also offends Article 9 of the Constitution because right to life includes right to a lawful and meaningful livelihood. Generally, "Right to life includes all those aspects of life which go to make a man's life meaningful, complete and worth living...All aspects of life which alone make it possible to live must be declared to be an integral component of the right to life...It includes all that gives meaning to a man's life, his traditions, culture heritage and protection of heritage in its full measure...Right to life guaranteed in any civilized society implies the right to food, water, decent environment, education medical care and shelter." The Shorter Constitution of India by Durga Das Basu relying upon re.
Ramsharan Autyanuprasi and another v. Union of India and others AIR 1989 SC 549, re. Chameli Singh and others v. State of U.P. And another AIR 1966 SC 1051 and re. Air India Statutory Corporation and others v. United Labour Union and others AIR 1997 SC 645.
12. Considering that right of livelihood is a fundamental right and right of due process is a constitutional right provided to the petitioners, the process of termination cannot be lightly taken.
The respondents had an obligation to issue one month's notice or make payment of one month's salary in lieu of notice if they desired the termination of services of the petitioners. Further to issue notice, also violates the requirement of section 24-A of the General Clauses Act, 1897 which provides:-- "Government functionary must act fairly, justly and reasonably."
' Therefore, the element of fairness has to be there in all government actions which is starkly missing in the present case.
13. The importance of one month's notice or payment of one month's salary in lieu thereof is based on logic and wisdom. It is a caution period for an employee who is proposed to be deprived of his right to livelihood to get enough time to either look for another employment or means of livelihood or then be compensated so that his livelihood is not affected. Therefore, this breathing period of one month is part and parcel of right to livelihood and cannot be taken away, especially when it has been provided for in the terms and conditions of the appointment order, as well as, the Recruitment Policy framed by the Provincial Government.
14. It is also important to note that how the District Selection Committee approved the appointment on the basis of the provisional certificates which were issued by a training centre of their own department. It is difficult to understand that the respondents as well as the District Selection Committee were not aware of the duration of the Veterinary Assistant Course offered by the Livestock Service Training Centre, Livestock and Diary Development Department, Government of the Punjab. This fact could have been easily checked at the time of selection and this unfortunate litigation could have been avoided. It is also noticed that the matter df equivalence of Certificates of Veterinary Assistant Course were put up before the Qualification Equivalence Determination Committee in January, 2008, five months after the appointment. This inefficiency of the department exhibits poor governance. The said equivalence could have been carried out at the time of appointment so that the petitioners could have been informed at the appropriate time, rather than after the petitioners had worked for six months.
15. In view of above, the impugned order dated 23-2-2008 is hereby set aside as being unlawful and without legal authority and in stark violation of Articles 4 and 9 of the Constitution. Petitioners are reverted/reinstated to their original appointments as made on 31-8-2007. Respondents are however, free to move against the petitioners strictly in accordance with law including the process provided in Clause 6 of the Terms and Conditions of Contract, if so advised.
' Writ petitions are, therefore, allowed with the above directions.