1. SYED HAIDER ALI PIRZADA, J. ---The petitioners, through this petition, have claimed for the following reliefs:-- "(i)it be declared that the officials/officers and functionaries of High Court of Sindh are entitled to 20% Secretariat Allowance; (ii)the said 20% Secretariat Allowance be paid to officials/officers of High Court. Of Sindh with effect from 1-7-1988; (iii)pending the final decision in the petition, the respondents be directed to pay 20% Secretariat Allowance to the employees of Sindh High Court with effect from 1-7-1988; (iv)any other or further relief or any other or further directions may be granted, along with costs:"
2. The facts leading to the filing of the above petition are that from 1-7-1988 the Government of Pakistan granted vide Office Memorandum No. F.1(32)-IMP-11/88, dated 1st July, 1988 twenty per cent of basic pay to the employees serving in the Federal Secretariat, President's Secretariat, Senate Secretariat, Prime Minister's Secretariat, National Assembly Secretariat and the Central Board of Revenue, known as `Secretariat Allowance'. In pursuance of the above policy of the Federal Government, the respondent No.1 viz. Sindh Government on or about 20th September, 1988, issued a Memorandum allowing twenty per cent of the basic pay as Secretariat Allowance to the employees serving in the offices of the Secretariat level, including Sindh Government Secretariat, Governor's Secretariat, Chief Minister's Secretariat and Sindh Assembly Secretariat.
3. The Federal Government as well as the Provincial Governments made additions to the category of employees, who were treated as Secretariat employees for the purposes of this allowance. The Federal Government included amongst the beneficiaries the employees of Pakistan Television and the employees of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, besides Central Board of Revenue. The Provincial Governments enlarged the category of the recipients of this allowance by including the employees of the Provincial Board of Revenue.
4. It seems that a large number of employees of Federal and Provincial Governments, belonging to departments not treated as Secretariat, approached the Courts or the Service Tribunal for grant of similar relief for one reason or the other. In case of Government of Punjab through Secretary, Finance, Lahore v. Punjab Public Service Commission's Employees Association 1992. SCMR 1847, it was held that: "The allowance was to meet the rising costs of living. If they were to be denied the relief they would be finding (it) difficult to meet the rising expenses, say of paying fees for their children. Obviously they would suffer irreparable loss. If, on the other hand, they were to lose their writ petitions, it would not be difficult for the petitioner, rather easy to recover the amount from the salaries of the respondents. Clearly the balance of convenience was in favour of the respondents. In these circumstances, consistently with the previous judgment of the High Court and relying on the order of this Court if, the learned Judge has passed the impugned order it calls for no interference. It is only an 44 interim order and such orders are not normally interfered with by this Court. There are no extraordinary grounds to depart from the normal rule."
5. In Government of Pakistan, through Ministry of Finance v. M.I. Cheema and others 1992 SCM R 1852, it was held that: "In the present case, keeping in view, the above rules 5 and 6 of the Rules, prima facie, it appears that the learned Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court who was exercising the power of the President granted the above Secretariat Allowance to the respondents. In this view of the matter prima facie, the appellant could not have questioned the grant of the above benefit to the respondents or tohave denied the payment of the same on the ground that the respondents were not entitled to it.--- In Brig. (Retd.) Abdur Rashid v. Secretary, Establishment Division and others (1991 SCM R 1288) the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed as under: -- "An allowance is payable upon its being made applicable to a particular class of persons. In the instant case, it is an admitted position that the allowance in question has not been made payable to the personnel attached to the Central Board of Film Censors. In this view of the matter, there has not been any violation of the terms of the service. No provision of any law or any statutory rules has been pointed out by Mr. Ansari whereby it has been provided that if a particular allowance is made payable to a particular class of civil servants, the other civil servants would also be entitled to such allowance."
6. In these circumstances, the petitioners also filed the above petition for grant of such an allowance.
7. Mr. Sirajul Haque Memon, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, has contended that the employees of the High Court of Sin& perform identical or similar duties as are performed by the Supreme Court and Federal Shariat Court employees. In support of this submission, he placed before us a recent judgment dated 30-3-1993 of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Government of Punjab, through the Secretary, Finance Department, Lahore v. Mubarak Ali Khan and others PLD 1993 SC 375.
8. Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Mangi, Additional Advocate-General, Sindh has submitted that the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court is applicable to the facts of the case.
9. Mr. Khalid Anwar, learned counsel appearing for the Sindh Government, has fairly conceded that the employees of the High Court are entitled to the benefits of the Notification dated 20-9-1988.
10. This question arose in the recent case -cited by Mr. Sirajul Haque Memon. In this case, Government of Punjab filed Civil Appeal No. 78 of 1991 against the judgment of Lahore High Court, dated 5-5-1991 passed in Intra --Court Appeal No. 189 of 1989. Similarly Province of Baluchistan filed petition for leave to Appeal No. 52 of 1992 against the Judgment dated 12-9-1991 passed in Constitution Petition No. 148 of 1990. Similarly Government of N.-W.F.P. Also filed Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal No. 26-P of 1992 against the judgment dated 23-12-1991 passed by the Peshawar High Court in Writ Petition Nos. 2029/91 and C.M. 2094/91 and order dated 12-1-1991 passed in Writ Petition No. 2029/91 and C.M. No. 2094. Mr. Shafiur Rahman, J. Speaking for the Supreme Court took into consideration the provisions of Articles 146, 208 and 240 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 and the National Pay Scales and also considered the various decisions cited before the Court, and observed that in Pakistan, the admitted position is that the distinction between the Secretariat staff and others was abolished when National Pay Scales were introduced. He further held as under:-- "the High Court employees perform almost identical functions as do the employees of these two other Courts perform. The employees of all the three Courts have been dealt with constitutionally by the same provision reproduced above. In the circumstances, the High Court employees cannot be discriminated against. The necessary provision of t Secretariat/Personal Allowance had to be made in respect of such employees as was made in the case of the Federal Shariat Court and the Supreme Court employees."
11. By virtue of Article 189 of the Constitution, the law declared by the Hon'ble Supreme Court has to be followed by us. In the recent decision of the Supreme Court relied upon by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, the law declared by the Supreme Court is that where two class of employees perform identical or similar duties, they would be entitled to 20% Secretariat/Personal Allowance: If the Government of Sindh denies them twenty per cent Secretariat/Personal Allowance, its action would be violative of Article 25 of the Constitution and the Court will strike down the discrimination -and grant relief to the aggrieved employees. In our opinion, the declaration by the Supreme Court is binding on us and precludes us from considering the point raised. We are bound by this decision.
12. For the aforesaid reasons, we allow the above petition and direct the Government of Sindh, the respondent No. 1 herein, to make available all the benefits of Notification No. FD-SRI-2(15)/88, dated 20th September, 1988 to the employees of the Sindh High Court with effect from 1-7-1988. We further direct that the arrears of the Secretariat/Personal Allowance be paid to the employees within a period of two months. A copy of this judgment be sent to the Accountant-General, Sindh at Karachi for compliance. In the circumstances of the case, the parties are directed to bear their own costs.