' IJAZ AHMAD CHAUDHARY, J.--- Through the present constitutional petition, Nasrullah Khan, Muhammad Anees, Assistant Professors and Saeed Iqbal Head Clerk, University of Gujrat have prayed that respondents Nos.1 to 3 be directed to place the petitioners on the same pay scales/grades with the others who are at par with the petitioners in the equal cadre/rank and the petitioners may also be granted house rent at the rate of 45% on regular pay instead of 30% on basic pay by removing the discrimination as has been given to other employees of the University since 1-7-2005.
2. Briefly the facts of the case are that petitioners Nos.1 and 2 are serving as Assistant Professors whereas petitioner No,3 is serving as Head Clerk in the University of Gujrat. According to section 3 of the University of Gujrat Act IX of 2004 the college of the petitioners has been made part and parcel of the University of Gujrat and furthermore A under subsection (7) of section 3 of the aforesaid Act all the employees of the college of the petitioners stood transferred to respondent No, 1.
Respondent No,1 has granted one-step high scale to its employees who had been directly inducted by respondent No,1 in the college than the employees of the constituent colleges and the petitioners are far more senior in time than the recruited lecturers of the University. The direct employees of the University are being given house rent at the rate of 45% of regular pay whereas the petitioners are being paid the house rent at the rate of 30% of the basic pay. Hence the present constitutional petition.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners contends that under the University of Gujrat Act 2004 all the employees, regular or on contract basis, serving in the Government College, Gujrat, Government Degree College for Women, Railway Road, Gujrat, Fatima Jinnah College for women, Gujrat and Government College for Women, Marghazar Colony, Gujrat stood transferred to the University of Gujrat but respondent No,1 in sheer disregard of specific provision of law has created the division/bifurcation amongst the employees which act of respondent No,1 is irrational, unreasonable, discriminatory, arbitrary, illegal, without lawful authority and unconstitutional. He further contends that house rent of respondent No,4, who is a lecturer, is Rs,4433 per month while that of petitioner No,1, who is an Assistant Professor is drawing house rent of Rs,3873 per month and same is the case of petitioners Nos.2 and 3, which is the violation of Article 25 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. Relies upon Inamur Rehman v. Federation of Pakistan and others 1992 SCM R 563 to contend that under Article 25 of the Constitution equal protection of law is the basic principle on which rests justice under the law and the petitioners are also entitled to the same treatment.
4. Learned counsel for respondent No,1 while opposing this petition contends that though the services of the petitioners have been transferred to the University of Gujrat being posted at Government Science College G.T. Road Gujrat when it was incorporated as campus of the University but they are not employees of the University and they are still employees of the Education Department, Government of the Punjab, who are performing their duties under the terms and conditions of Government of the Punjab; that the petitioners are still under same terms and conditions as were at the time of their recruitment, their seniority lists, pay scale structure, promotions postings and adjustments still rest with the Higher Education Department, Government of the Punjab, who cannot claim the benefits which are being given to the employees of the University; that no discrimination has been made by respondent No,1 as the petitioners do not fulfil the equivalence with teachers of the University until they are not selected qualifying the eligibility and academics by the competent Selection Board.
5. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and also perused the available record. The crucial question to be determined in this constitutional petition is that as to whether the employees of the Government College, Gujrat, Government Degree College for Women, Railway Road, Gujrat, Fatima Jinnah College for Women, Gujrat and the Government College for Women, Marghazar Colony, Gujrat can be treated as employees of the University of Gujrat or not and if ultimately this Court comes to the conclusion that the employees of the aforesaid Colleges are the employees of the University of Gujrat then the relief which the petitioners have sought through this petition can be granted to them or not. Under section 3 subsections (6) and (7) of the University of Gujrat Act, 2004 all the properties owned or possessed and all the employees, regular or on contract basis serving in the Government College, Gujrat, Government Degree College for Women, Railway Road, Gujrat, Fatima Jinnah College for Women, Gujrat and the Government College for Women, Marghazar Colony, Gujrat were transferred to the University. The relevant section of the aforesaid Act is reproduced hereunder:- "3. Incorporation:---(1) The Government College, Gujrat, the Government Degree College for Women, Railway Road, Gujrat, the Fatima Jinnah College for Women, Gujrat and the Government College for Women, Marghazar Colony, Gujrat shall be reconstituted as the University of Gujrat at Gujrat in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6) All properties owned or possessed and all rights and all interests held or enjoyed by, and all liabilities subsisting against the Government College, Gujrat, Government Degree College for Women, Railway Road, Gujrat and Fatima Jinnah College for Women, Gujrat shall stand transferred to the University provided that the surplus land available with the Pak Swedish Institution of Technology, Gujrat shall be acquired for the University of Gujrat.
(7) All employees, regular or on contract basis, serving in the Government College, Gujrat, the Government Degree College for Women, Railway Road, Gujrat, the Fatima Jinnah College for Women, Gujrat and the Government College for Women, Marghazar Colony, Gujrat immediately before coming into force of this Act shall stand transferred to the University, except such employees who are working in the said institute and colleges on deputation with or without deputation allowance, provided that they shall remain on deputation with or without deputation allowance, as the case may be, and shall be liable to be transferred to their parent department at any time."
6. There is no cavil with the proposition that under the aforesaid provisions all the employees of the constituent colleges, regular or on contract basis immediately before coming into force of the Act stood transferred to the University and there is nothing in the aforesaid Act about the future transfer or posting of the employees of the constituent colleges. According to subsection (1) above all the four colleges mentioned therein were given the status of the University and there is no where mention that these four colleges or the University had any different status and it is wrong assertion of the respondents that the petitioners are still employees of the Punjab Government and they should be treated according to the terms and conditions on which they were recruited. It has been further clarified in the "Savings" clause i.e, section 51 of the Act that all the persons appointed in the aforesaid four colleges, which were given the combined status of the "University", were deemed to have been appointed under this Act. The same is reproduced as under:--- "51. Savings---Upon the commencement of this Act---
(i) all funds, properties, rights and interests of whatsoever kind issued, used, enjoyed, possessed, owned or vested in the Government College, Gujrat the Government Degree College for Woman, Railway Road, Gujrat, the Fatima Jinnah College for Women, Gujrat and the Government College for women Marghazar Colony Gujrat existing immediately before the commencement of this Act and all liabilities subsisting against the said institute and colleges shall stand transferred to the University established under this Act; and
(ii) everything done, action taken, obligation and liabilities incurred, rights and assets acquired, persons appointed or authorized, jurisdictions or powers conferred, endowments, bequests, funds or trusts created, donations or grants made, orders issued existing immediately before the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been respectively done, taken, incurred, acquired, appointed, conferred, created, made or issued under this Act.
7. It is thus clear that all the employees of the aforesaid four colleges were to be treated the employees of the University of Gujrat for all practical purposes. Even otherwise, the principals of the constituent colleges have been designated as officers of the University under section 8 of the aforesaid Act and even two Principals of the constituent colleges to be nominated by the Government were made the members of the Syndicate and Academic Council of the said University. In such circumstances, the contention of the learned counsel for respondent No,1 that the petitioners were never inducted in the University and they are still employees of the Education Department, Government of the Punjab, who are performing their duties under the terms and conditions of Government of the Punjab as were at the time of their recruitment, their seniority lists, pay scale structure, promotions postings and adjustments still rest with the Higher Education Commission, Government of the Punjab and they cannot claim the benefits which are being given to the employees of the University, has no force at all.
8. Now the question remains that as to whether the petitioners are entitled to the relief claimed by them in this writ petition or not. Since it has been observed above that the employees of the constituent colleges are the employees of the University of Gujrat, therefore, they are entitled to the benefits which are being allowed to other employees of the University of Gujrat and by not allowing the same benefits to the petitioners discriminatory treatment is being meted out to them. Article 4 of the Constitution provides that to enjoy the protection of law and to be treated in accordance with law is the inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be and Article 25 thereof has guaranteed that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law. The august Supreme Court of Pakistan in HRCR and 2 others v. Government of Pakistan and others PLD 2009 SC 507, has held that the High Court has plenary jurisdiction to positively enforce fundamental rights. It cannot be left at the choice of the Government functionaries to treat their subordinates, who are similarly placed, in a different manner as all such persons would stand declared entitled to equal rights denial of which would be sheer discrimination and contravention of Article 25 of the Constitution. In the present case the learned counsel for respondent No,1 has failed to point out any specific classification to deprive the petitioners from the relief sought for. The judgment dated 16-9-2009 passed by the august Supreme Court of Pakistan in HRC No,1305-G-09 is also referred.
9. In view of the above discussion, this writ petition is allowed, the petitioners are declared to be the employees of the respondent University and they are entitled to get the benefits as prayed for, which are being given to the other employees of the University of Gujrat.