ROOH-UL-AMIN KHAN, J:-Through the instant petition under Article- 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, petitioners seek reinstatement in service and setting aside the termination order dated 13.9.2009, whereby they were terminated because they had deserted their place of duties for a long period without information to the authority .
2. Brief but relevant facts of the case as collected from record are that the petitioners while serving the respondent-department as Khasadar Force, were threatened by the militants and miscreants not to serve the Khyber Agency authorities and leave their posts. Consequently, due to severe danger and life threat to the petitioners and their families, they having no alternate, had to leave the places of their duties for the time being and thus absented themselves. When the dust settled down; the petitioners approached the competent authorities for their posting, but they were informed that their services had been terminated alongwith 715 other employees of Khyber Khassadar Force and Khyber Levy Force vide order dated 13.9.2009 on the ground of leaving the levy post without permission and conveying information to the authorities and deliberate absence from duties. Having no remedy, the petitioners filed writ petition No. 688/2010 which was disposed of vide order dated 22.4.2010 in the terms of treating it as an appeal before the Appellate authority with direction to decide the same on merit. During pendency of the above referred to departmental appeal, petitioners approached the Federal Service Tribunal through two different service appeals which too were decided on 6.12.2010, with the directions to the Appellate authority to decide the departmental appeal of the appellants within one month. Resultantly, the departmental appeal of the employees/petitioners was decided whereby the services of about 258 Khassadars were reinstated w.e.f. 30.11.2012. Likewise, the Levy personnel were also reinstated in service but the case of petitioners was not considered, therefore, they filed another writ petition No. 874-P/2013 and the respondents were directed to give personal hearing to the petitioners. Once again, the grievance of petitioners was not redressed and their fate was decided otherwise vide order dated 16.7.2013, hence this petition.
3. Initially comments of respondents were called for, which were submitted accordingly, wherein the claim of petitioners was refuted on the ground that they had deserted the place of their duties without prior information to the authority which had created a haphazard situation in the area.
4. Learned counsel for the parties were heard at length and record perused with their valuable assistance, which reveals that the petitioners had earlier filed writ petition No. 688/2010, wherein they have admitted the fact that they had deserted their post of services due to life threats to the petitioners and their families by the miscreants. While disposing of the above said writ petition, this Court had arrived at a conclusion that the services of petitioners being employees of Khyber Force, were being governed under the Levy Service Rules, 2006, which provides a remedy of appeal before the Appellate Authority, therefore, while exercising jurisdiction under Article-199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan,1973, this Court couldn't issue the writ asked for, however instead of dismissing the writ petition, it was treated as an appeal before the Appellate authority, by following the dictum rendered by the apex Court in case titled Muhammad Anis and others..vs..Abdul Haseeb and others ( PLD 1994 SC 539). In compliance of the order of this Court, the respondent-department decided the departmental appeal vide order dated 14.1.2011, by holding that the petitioners had willfully abandoned their duties and legal responsibility, and so have proved themselves guilty of cowardice as well as they had shown gross insubordination to their superior so much so that they did not inform the authority for leaving the post. Subsequently, the petitioners had approached through another writ petition bearing No. 874 of 2013 which was disposed of vide order dated 13.6.2013 and the petitioners were given another opportunity to prove their innocence before the competent authority. They appeared before the Appellate authority in person as well as were represented by the Advocates, wherein they could not deny the charges of leaving their posts and pickets during militancy. The case of each petitioner was considered individually, but none of them could bring his case at par with those employees who have been reinstated on the basis of their voluntary offer for placing their conditional service to the administration and Aman Committee constituted for prevailing peace in the area. It was brought into the notice of the Court that after providing opportunity of personal hearing not once but twice to the petitioners, they could not come up with solid and convincing justification.
5. So far the argument of learned counsel for petitioners with regard to the applicability of the Federal Levies Force (Service ) Rules, 2010 is concerned, it is manifest, rather admitted fact that the petitioners have been terminated from services vide order dated 13.9.2009, whereas the rules ibid have been brought into the book in pursuance of the Federal Levies Force Regulation, 2010 on 17.6.2010 which have no retrospective effect, therefore, cannot be made applicable to the case of petitioners.
6. Needless to mention that the Khassadar force having a key role in maintaining peace and law and order situation in the tribal area are responsible to protect the tribal inhabitants from miscreants and terrorists in the area. Their standard of discipline and subordination to the chain of command force is equivalent to other law enforcing agencies and armed forces. The petitioners have not only committed serious misconduct, but have betrayed the authority by not informing them about deserting their posts and pickets, particularly at the eve of serious disrupt by the militants in the area. It is manifest from the record that the petitioners have committed serious misconduct, being admitted by them in their writ petition No. 688/2010. They have been given sufficient opportunity to prove their innocence, but in vain. Hence the respondent-department while deciding the fate of the petitioners through deciding their departmental appeal has not committed any illegality or irregularity warranting interference by this Court.
7. In wake of the above, this writ petition being bereft of merit, stands dismissed.