ABDUR RAHMAN KHAN, J. -- The above thirteen appeals with leave of this Court impugn the legality of the common judgment dated 24.7.1996, of the learned NWFP Service Tribunal (henceforth to be referred as Tribunal); whereby, while accepting the appeals moved by the private respondents the common order dated 12.9.1994, impugned in all the said appeals, dispensing with the service of the respondents, were set aside and, consequently, they were allowed to continue in their service.
2. Leave in these appeals was granted in these terms:- Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that the respondents were contract employees and had been engaged tor the purposes of the Water Supply Scheme for Lakki Marwat and they have to right in law to be retained or absorbed by the Municipal Committee, Lakki Marwat which comes under the Local Government Department and the Service Tribunal erred in allowing the appeal of the private respondents.
After hearing learned counsel as well as learned Addl. Advocate-General, NWFP, we are of the. View that the contentions raised on behalf of the petitioner, which are supported by the learned Addl.
Advocate-General, require further consideration. Leave is therefore, granted in all the 13 petitions."
3. The private respondents in these appeals were appellants before the Tribunal and they had been appointed as members of Operational Staff by Public Health Department in various capacities as the Operators, Volve- men and Chowkidar in connection with tube-wells. After completion of the tube-wells the Health Department handed over these tube-wells to the Administrator Municipal Committee, lakki Marwat (henceforth to be written as Committee). The Executive Engineer of the Health Department by letter dated 16.2.1995, also informed the Chairman, Municipal Committee Lakki that since the Water Supply Scheme has been handed over to the Committee as such the Operational Staff already working in the said scheme would also be at the disposal of the Committee. The Committee, however, regretted the absorption of the staff as Committee employees on the following reasons:- "The Operation Staff who has been appointed on contract basis by the PHE Division Lakki were not taken over in charge by the Municipal Committee Lakki Marwat, on the plea that no such posts are existed/created on the schedule of the establishment of the Municipal Committee, Lakki Marwat.
At present the tube-wells under reference are operated smoothly by the existing water supply staff of the Municipal Committee, Lakki Marwat and no hindrance have been occurred on their parts.
It is further pointed out that the financial position of the Municipal Committee Lakki is so limited that it cannot bear lavish and extra expenditure of salaries, etc. of the operational staff of the PHE Division, Lakki.
Therefore, on account of paucity of funds the negative reply, in your response from the head of M.C.
Lakki Marwat may kindly be regretted please."
4. The said members of the Operational Staff, through separate appeals, approached the Tribunal against the ing their absorption in the service of the Committee. These appeals were accepted through the impugned order and, accordingly, the Committee was directed to consider the private respondents as the members of their Staff.
5. The learned Additional Advocate-General, Mr. Rashidul Haq Qazi, who appeared for respondents Nos. 2 and 3, supported the appeals and argued that the private respondents, who had been appointed on contract, could neither be termed as civil servants nor they could approach the Tribunal for the redress of their grievance. He then referred to their appointment order, the relevant law and the written statement filed by the Government before the Tribunal to show that the objection regarding jurisdiction had been taken in the written statement. He also relied on Alam Zab Khan Vs. Commissioner, Afghan Refugees, NWFP Peshawar and 2 others" (1994 SCM R 546) to support his viewpoint. The learned counsel for the appellant also adopted these arguments. The learned counsel for the private respondents controverted these submissions as he was of the view that the Tribunal was legally competent to take cognizance of the matter and that the decision rendered by it was correct in all respects.
The relevant portion of the appointing order dated 21st April, 1993, is as under:- Your appointment will be purely on temporary basis as stopgap arrangement on contract basis for an year extendable till your services are required by the Deptt for which then you will have to furnish a fresh agreement for the same.
Your appointment as ________________ (on fixed pay) is liable to termination at any the, without any Notice and without assigning any reason during the period of contract appointment, if your work during this period is not found satisfactory."
Thus, there is no doubt about it that the private respondents were contract employees purely on temporary basis. The definition of Civil Servant as given in North West Frontier Province Civil Servants Act, 1973 and Section 2 (b)(ii) specifically excludes a person employed on contract from the definition of Civil Servant. Moreover under Section 11 (ii) such a contract/temporary service is liable to termination on the initial or extended period of his employment. In any case the respondents being contract employees could not approach the Tribunal for the redress of their grievance and the Tribunal was also not competent to entertain their appeals. As we accept these appeals for lack of jurisdiction of the Tribunal in the matter, therefore, we avoid to dilate upon the merits of the respective stands of the parties lest that may prejudice either side in case of farther litigation, if any, before any forum available under the law. Consequently, all the above captioned appeals are accepted and the impugned judgments of the Tribunal are set aside, but with no order as to costs.