' CH. MUHAMMAD ARIF, J---Leave to appeal claimed under Article 185 (3) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 against the judgment, dated 8-2-1999 passed by a learned Judge in Chambers of the Lahore High Court in petitioner's Writ Petition No,15668 of 1998 whereby the judgment, dated 22-7-1998 of the Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal, Lahore holding that: "...In the light of insertion of section 2-A of (Federal) Service Tribunals Act, 1973, and the latest view of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the appeal has abated. The parties will be at liberty to have access to the competent forum for further pursuit of the matter... ", was upheld.
2. Petitioner-Muhammad Afzal Chadhar filed an application against the Zonal Chief, United Bank Limited, Zonal Office, Jhang under section 25-A of the Industrial Relations Ordinance (No,XXIII of)
1969, hereinafter referred to as the Ordinance, challenging the issuance of 2 charge-sheets to him on 5-6-1996 and 16-10-1996 as also his, subsequent dismissal from service of the bank, as a Typist, on 26-4-1997. The Punjab Labour Court No,5, Sargodha took necessary proceedings in the application under section 25-A of the Ordinance and allowed the same vide judgment, dated 28- 3-1998 by setting aside the charge-sheet as also the dismissal order and directing the reinstatement in service of the petitioner.
3. As already mentioned above, the respondent-bank succeeded in its appeal before the Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal on 22-7-1998.
4. The learned Judge in Chambers of the Lahore High Court,. Lahore dismissed Writ Petition No,15668 of 1998 with following observations:-- "In the present case, there is absolutely no doubt that section 2-A was enforced on 10-6-1997 and that as the law related to procedure, it applied to all pending cases. The order passed by the Labour Court on 28-3-1998 was, therefore, without jurisdiction".
5. Hence this petition, with the following prayer clause:- "In view of the matter, it is respectfully prayed that the petitioner may kindly be granted Leave to Appeal against the impugned judgment, dated 8-2-1999 passed by the Honourable Lahore High Court, Lahore whereby Writ Petition No,15668 of 1998 of the respondent No,1 was accepted.
"It is further prayed that the judgment, dated 8-2-1999 of the Honourable Lahore High Court may kindly be set aside and the order, dated 28-3-1998 passed by the learned respondent No,2 may kindly be restored with all consequential benefits in the interest of justice."
6. Mr. Mian Mahmood Hussain, learned Advocate Supreme Court appearing in support of this petition has criticized the impugned judgment holding that addition of section 2-A in the (Federal)
Service Tribunals Act (No,LXX of) 1973, hereinafter referred to as the Act, with effect from 10-6-1997, and argued that the same was not attracted to the present case in that the omission of the word "or have been" or who "has held a post" from the definition of 'civil servant' and the amendment made to this effect in section 2-A of the Act shows that the intention of the law-makers was to exclude the jurisdiction of the Service Tribunal in relation to the employees who were dismissed from service before 10-6-1997". He has referred to the case reported as Divisional Engineer Phones, Phones Division, Sukkur and another v. Muhammad Shahid and others (1999 PLC (C.S.) 1208) in support of his above contention.
7. Contrarily, Mr. Mian Muhammad Saleem, learned Advocate Supreme Court appearing on behalf of the respondent/ caveator-Zonal Chief UBL, Jhang has supported the judgment by placing implicit upon this Court's judgment in Civil Appeals Nos.1516--1537, of 1997 decided on 31-3-1998, in line with an earlier judgment in Adnan Afzal v. Captain Sher Afzal (PLD 1969 SC 187), as also upon United Bank Limited through President v. Shamim Ahmed Khan and 41 others (1999 PLC (C.S.) 1032) in support of his plea that section 2-A of the Act declares that: "Service under any authority, corporation, body or organization established by or under a Federal law and which is owned or controlled by the Federal Government or in which the Federal Government has a controlling share or interest, to be service of Pakistan and every person holding a post under such authority, corporation, body or organization shall be deemed to be civil servant for, the purpose of this Act" and that the Legislature only wanted to provide a right of appeal to persons similarly placed as the petitioner before the Service Tribunal's without making any corresponding amendment in the Civil Servants Act/s, which determine the terms and conditions of service of civil servants and that the observations made by the learned Judge in Chambers that with the coming into, force of the above amendment, only the procedure was affected which was retrospective in nature inasmuch as it applies to the pending causes. Put differently, the argument was that as section 2-A was enforced w,e,f, 10-6-1997 and as the same related to procedure, it applied to all pending cases with the result that the order passed by the Labour Court on 28-3-1998 was without jurisdiction.
8. We have considered the arguments addressed at the Bar and are inclined to the view that no interference is called for in the impugned judgment. In the absence of any objection to the admitted position that newly added section 2-A in the Act came into operation w,e,f, 10-6-1997 when petitioner's grievance petition under section 25-A of the Ordinance was pending and that its decision favouring the petitioner on 28-3-1998 was totally without jurisdiction, the instant petition lacks merit. Moreover, as held by this Court in precedents pressed into service by the learned counsel for the respondent/ caveator/ Zonal Chief, UBL, Jhang the petitioner can make an appeal against the order of his dismissal from service on 26-4-1997 along with an application for condonation of delay before the Federal Service. Tribunal.
9. Resultantly, this petition fails and is hereby dismissed with the observation that the petitioner may, if so advised, make resort to the remedy of appeals before the Federal Service Tribunal and seeks condonation of delay there on available grounds.