NADEEM AKHT AR, J.----The petitioners in all these petitions, who are retired employees of KDA and some of them have passed away and are being represented now by their widows, have alleged that their pension has been illegally withheld by KDA since the last many years. In its reply / comments, the above position was not denied by KDA, however , the only explanation offered in this behalf on the previous dates of hearing was that KDA was facing acute financial crisis and did not have sufficient funds to settle the outstanding pension amount. It was conceded before us on every previous date of hearing by the Director General and Member Finance of KDA that all the present employees of KDA, particularly the senior and top management, were receiving their full salary and other allowances regularly on monthly basis, but the payment of salary to low-paid workers and employees in lower cadre was/is often stopped or delayed due to paucity of funds. They were unable to explain or justify as to how the senior and top management was receiving their full salary and other allowances regularly on monthly basis when admittedly there was a scarcity of funds ; and, why the alleged scarcity of funds was made an excuse by KDA to withhold or delay the payment of salary only to low-paid workers and employees in lower cadre or the pension of retired employees.
2. In view of the above, the explanation offered by KDA for withholding the pension of its retired employees was rejected vide order dated 17.03.2020. Thereafter , a detailed proposal was submitted by KDA on 19.03.2020 for settlement of liability of pension and post-retirement benefits of all its retired employees by selling the properties specified in the said proposal. On the same day, the Director General KDA and Member Finance KDA undertook on behalf of KDA that 10% of the pension and other post-retirement benefits of all the retired employees shall be paid to them latest by 30.04.2020 and the remaining 90% shall be paid / settled lates t by 31.10.2020. In view of the above, the above proposal and their undertaking were accepted and were made the order of the Court vide order dated 19.03.2020. Thereafter , at their request the dates for payment of 10% and remaining 90% pension and other post-retirement benefits were extended till 30.06.2020 and 31.12.2020, respectively , vide order dated 05.05.2020; and, the date for 10% was again extended till 30.09.2020 as the last and final opportunity vide order dated 25.08.2020.
3. In the above background, following common order was passed in these petitions on the last date of hearing viz. 22.10.2020 : "On 13.03.2020, Director General KDA was directed to appear in person before this Court on the next date along with list of all such employees of KDA whose pension and other post-retirement benefits have been stopped or delayed by KDA. It was further ordered that the above list shall mention the names of all retired employees of KDA, dates of their retirement and the amounts payable to them by KDA. The above list was submitted by the Director General KDA before this Court on 17.03.2020, when the explanation offered by him for withholding the above amounts was rejected and last and final opportunity was granted to KDA to submit a concrete proposal before this Court on the next date of hearing regardi ng settlement of liability of all the retired employees of KDA in respect of their pension and post-retirement benefits.
On 19.03.2020, a proposal was submitted by KDA according to which an amount of Rs.127,315,000.00 had already been received by KDA towards auction money in respect of 32 units in PHS auctioned on 25, 26 and 27 February 2020 ; Rs.240,643,910.00 was expected to be realized by KDA from successful bidders of the plots auctioned by KDA in the year 2017 ; Rs.200,000,000.00 was expected to be received by KDA in the second phase of auction of the remaining / unsold units in PHS scheduled from 24 to 27 March 2020, auction notice whereof had already been published in newspapers on 13.03.2020 ; and, Rs.400,000,000.00 was expected to be received by KDA by auctioning plots in different schemes / townships scheduled from 07 to 09 April 2020, auction notice whereof was to be published. The grand total of all the above mentioned amounts received / to be received by KDA came to Rs.967,958,910.00 .
The Director General KDA and Member Finance KDA undertook on behalf of KDA on 19.03.2020 that 10% of the pension and other post-retirement benefits of all the retired employees of KDA shall be paid to them latest by 30.04.2020 and the remaining 90% shall be paid / settled latest by 31.10.2020 ; and, the Director General KDA undertook to ensure that all retired employees of KDA shall receive pension and other post-retirement benefits as per the undertaking given by him and the Member Finance, whether their names are mentioned in the above list or not. It was made clear to the Director General and Member Finance that their above undertaking on behalf of KDA regarding settlement of pension and all other post-retirement benefits of all the retired employees of KDA shall be deemed to be the order of this Court, and non-compliance thereof shall entail consequences of disobedience / violation of this Court's order . The Director General and Member Finan ce were directed to publish a public notice on behalf of KDA in Urdu daily 'Jong' and English daily 'Dawn' within ten
(10) days from 19.03.2020 notifying the retired employees of KDA that their pension and other post-retirement benefits shall be settled by KDA by paying 10% thereof latest by 30.04.2020 and the remaining 90% latest by 31.10.2020. They were further directed not to use / utilize / appropriate any of the amounts mentioned in the above proposal, or any part thereof, for any other purpose. In order to ensure compliance of this direction, they were also directed to open a new bank account and to transfer / deposit therein all the amounts, received and/or to be received by KDA, as per the above proposal. They are further directed to submit compliance report to this Court along with proof of opening the said new bank account, the transfer / deposit of amounts therein, fate of the auction of unsold units in PHS, fate of the auction of plots in different schemes / townships, and proof of payment of 10% amount to all retired employees as at 30.04.2020.
Vide order dated 05.05.2020, the date of payment of 10% amount of the pension and post-retirement benefits to all retired employees of KDA was extended till 30.06.2020 and that of the remaining 90% was extended till 31.12.2020. The above extension was allowed in view of the request made on behalf of KDA due to the pandemic of Covid-19.
On 25.08.2020, the Director General KDA undertook that the amount of Rs.130, 000,000.00 realized by KDA as sale proceeds of some of its properties and was lying in the separate account opened in pursuance of this Court's order , shall be disbursed to the widows of retired employees of KDA before the next date of hearing, and after paying the same to all the widows, if any amount is left the same shall be disbursed on pro rata basis towards pension and post-retirement benefits of retired employees according to their date( s) of retirement i.e. priority shall be given to those who had retired earlier in time. He also undertook that the public notice in terms of order dated 19.03.2020 shall be published within seven days. At his request, the date of payment of 10% amount of the pension and post-retirement benefits to all retired employees of KDA was extended, as the last and final opportunity , till 30.09.2020, with the observation that if the same is not settled on the said date, salary of the present employees starting from the top shall be stopped or properties / assets of KDA shall be attached and sold in order to satisfy the claim of retired employees.
Compliance report dated 07.09.2020 has been submitted today by Atta Abbas, Director Finance and Accounts, KDA, in purported compliance of order dated 25.08.2020, along with a summary of the amounts payable by KDA to its retired employees towards their post-r etirement benefits as well as the 10% amount paid to them in pursuance of the aforesaid order . The above are taken on record. According to the above report, public notice in terms of order dated 19.03.2020 was published in newspapers on 27.08.2020 ; a total amount of Rs.234,749,894.00 is payable by KDA to its retired employees ; and, an amount of Rs.23,741,450.00, being 10% amount of the pension and post-retirement benefits, has been paid by KDA to its 988 retired employees. Learned counsel for the petitioners have expressed some reservations with regard to the contents of the above compliance report and state that the orders of this Court have not been complied with by KDA in letter and spirit. The above named Director Finance and. -Accounts KDA is directed to produce before this Court on the next date of hearing the complete bank statement of the bank account opened by KDA for the above purpose in pursuance of the order dated 19.03.2020, At the request of Syed Sultan Ahmed advocate, office is directed to fix C.P. No. D-851 1/2019 for hearing along with this bunch on the next date of hearing. The officers present today must be in attendance on the next date of hearing. By consent, adjourned to 29.10.2020 at 1 1:00 a.m. "
4. A purported interim compliance report dated 07.09.2020 has been filed today by the Director Finance and Accounts KDA wherein it is stated that the officials of KDA had submitted wrong figures of Rs.127,315,000.00 and 130,000,000.00 before this Court on 19.03.2020 and 25.08.2020 respectively , with regard to the auction proceeds realized by KDA;- KDA was able to collect only an amount of Rs.23,741,459.00 from different sources, including the grant received from the Government of Sindh for payment of salaries etc. ; due to oversight and rush of work, even the above amount could not be deposited in the separate account ordered by this Court ; the Governing Body of KDA rejected the proposal submitted before this Court in relation to the amount of Rs.240,643,910.00 to be realized by KDA from successful bidders of the plots auctioned by KDA in the year 2017, and directed an inquiry in respect thereof ; and, auction of properties could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been requested in the above report on behalf of KDA that the time for settlement of pension and other post-retirement benefits be extended till 31.12.2021, and the Finance Department of the Government of Sindh be directed to approve the application pending before it which was filed by KDA for one-time grant to settle the liability in question.
5. We have noticed that the above report filed today bears the date 07.09.2020, yet it was not submitted on the last two dates of hearing viz. 07.10.2020 and 22.10.2020. This clearly shows that the above information regarding non- compliance of this Court's orders was deliberately suppressed and concealed by KDA and its officials from this Court on the last two dates of hearing. This also demonstrates their mala fides and irresponsible and careless attitude towards this Court.
6. As noted above, the proposal submitted by KDA for settlement of the subject liability and the undertaking given in the behalf by the Director General and Member Finance KDA were made the order of the Court vide order dated 19.03.2020, and it was observed that non-compliance thereof shall entail conseque nces of disobedience / violation of this Court's order . Therefore, the. Governing Body of KDA had no authority whatsoever to reject any part of the said proposal or to initiate inquiry in respect thereof, as disclosed in the purported interim compliance report dated 07.09.2020 filed today . Such action on the part of the Governing Body of KDA clearly amounts to contempt of this Court's order . Moreover , the amount received / realized by KDA was admittedly not deposited in the separate account ordered by this Court, and the public notice was also not published by KDA within the time stipulated by this Court. The above disobedience by KDA also constitutes contempt of the specific directions given by this Court.
In addition to the above, KDA and its Director General and senior officials of Finance and Accounts Department have crossed all limits by submitting wrong amounts / figures / information before this Court, as admitted in the report filed today , and by suppressing and concealing this position from this Court on the last two dates of hearing.
Thus, the former Director Generals KDA and Member Finance KDA, who submitted wrong figures / amounts and gave undertaking before this Court and disobeyed the orders of this Court, as well as the present Director General KDA and the Director Finance and Accounts KDA, have exposed themselves to contempt of Court proceedings.
7. Pension is an unalienable fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. A person dedicates his entire life, expertise, experience, energy and loyalty to their employer with the hope that after retirement when they may no longer be able to earn any other livelihood in their old age, they will receive a monthly pension as a regular income, without recourse to the employer and/or legal proceedings, to cater to their own needs and those A of their family . It is unfortunate that KDA has miserably failed to discharge its statutory obligation and has deprived about 1,000 retired employees of this precious an unalienable fundamental right. It is even more unfortunate that despite the alleged financial crisis and scarcity of funds, the senior and top management of KDA has always received and continues to receive full salary and allowances. There cannot be a better example than this of discrimination against those arguably most in need of a stable source of income. The above mentioned glaring acts of disobedience of this Court's orders and negligence in fulfillment of a statutory obligation committed by the management of KDA clearly show that despite all efforts made by this Court to secure the outstanding dues of retired employees and to ensure prompt settlement thereof, they have no intention to settle the same as it was stated by KDA on 07.09.2020 in its purported interim comp liance report, i.e. almost three months before the deadline (31.12.2020) given by this Court, that the orders of this Court cannot be complied with by 31.12.2020.
8. There is enough material available on record to establish that the accounts of KDA are not being kept or managed in accordance with law and there is no coordination at all amongst the officers and departments. We were shocked when Atta Abbas, the present Director Finance and Accounts KDA, who has filed the purported interim compliance report dated 07.09.2020 today , informed us that he holds only a Bachelor of Arts degree and has no educational qualification or experience relating to finance or accounting. Record shows that the Director General of KDA is replaced / changed after every few months as three replaceme nts have been made during the last seven months during the pendency of these petitions before us. These facts alone are sufficient to show the pathetic state of affairs and management in KDA. Thus, it is apparent that the officials of KDA do not have the competence to comply with the orders of this Court, nor do they have any intention to do so ; hence, they cannot be trusted.
9. Accordingly , the Official Assignee of this Court is appointed as Commissioner to ensure compliance of the orders of this Court in letter and spirit within the stipulated time. He shall take over the separate bank account opened by KDA in pursuance of this Court's order dated 19.03.2020, and shall ensure that all proceeds realized from the sale / auction of properties, specified in the proposal submitted by KDA on 19.03.2020, are deposited in the said account and are not utilized for any purpose other than settlement of the liability of pension and other post-retirement benefits of retired employees of KDA, as directed vide order dated 19.03.2020. The sale / auction of the properties specified in the said proposal shall be held under the supervision of the learned Commissioner . He shall also ensure that the remaining 90% amount of pension and other post-retirement benefits are disbursed to all retired employees on or before 31.12.2020 in terms of order dated 25.08.2020. In case the remaining 90% amount could not be collected or fetched and is not paid to retired employees on or before 31.12.2020 due to any reason whatsoever , salary of the present employees of KDA, starting from the top, shall be stopped without any further order of this Court and shall remained stopped till the remaining 90% amount is received by all retired employees, as already ordered on 25.08.2020. In such an event, the learned Commissioner shall also take over the salary account(s) of KDA on 01.01.2021 and shall ensure that the amount(s) lying or deposited therein is/are utilized only to settle the subject liability . It is clarified that the learned Commissioner shall not interfere in the day-to-day affairs of KDA or the decisions taken by KDA in relation to matters other than the subject liability of retired employees. All the officials of KDA are jointly and severally directed to cooperate with the learned Commissioner in all respects for implementation of this order .
10. It has been claimed by KDA that 10% of the pension amount has been paid to all retired employees. Learned Commissioner is directed to ascertain whether this claim made by KDA is correct or not. He shall submit a report to this effect on the next date of hearing, which shall also disclose the steps taken by him, up to the date of the report, for implementation of this order .
11. Issue Show-Cause Notice to (i) Dr. Syed Saif-ur-Rehman , former Director General KDA, (ii) Asif Ikram , former Director General KDA, (iii) Nasir Abbas Soomro , present Director General KDA, (iv) Qazi Abdul Qadir , Member Finance KDA, and (v) Atta Abbas, Director Finance and Accounts KDA, to show cause why proceedings should not be initiated against them for deliberately and willfully disobeying the orders of this Court and not honouring the undertakings given by them before this Court ; and, for not only submitting wrong amounts / figures / information before this Court, but also for deliberately and willfully suppressing and concealing this position from this Court on the last two dates of hearing. All the above persons are directed to be in attenda nce on the next date of hearing along with their reply to the Show-Cause Notice.
Adjourned to 20-11-2020 at 10:00 a.m