DECISION ' By this common judgment I propose to dispose three Appeals namely; Appeal No,KAR-7 of 2001, Appeal No,KAR-8 of 2001 and Appeal No,KAR-9 of 2001 all filed by M/s Karachi Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited Karachi, respectively against respondents Adil Abdul Jabbar, Muhammad Hanif Bawani and Muhammad Farooq Qureshi in respect of separate orders of the same date i,e, 9th January, 2001 of Sindh Labour Court No,V, Karachi. The facts leading to the said Appeals may briefly be stated as follows. All the three respondents were employed in the Appellants'
Organisation as workman. They claim to have been working to the satisfaction of the Management without giving them any cause of complaint. However Quotation Department of the Appellant was shifted from 2nd Floor to 4th Floor whereupon the respondents alongwith their other colleagues pressed for installation of Air-conditioners at the said Floor but with no result. Failure of the Appellant Management to meet the said requirement of the workers generated a lot heat between the two parties so much so that the workers made sit in (strike) outside the office of President and General Secretary of the Appellant Organisation. They were also alleged to have raised anti- management and anti-Government slogans. As a result they were served with show-cause notice and Naushad Shafkat was appointed as Enquiry Officer to hold an enquiry. The respondent workers did not attend the enquiry which was, therefore, completed exparte. Before completion of the enquiry the General Secretary of Workers Union dashed to Islamabad and filed Application before N.I.R.C. Praying for issuance of Prohibitory Order. Though such order was issued yet the workers were first prohibited from attending their duties by gate-stop and then by written order their services were terminated. They served grievance notice on the Management but their grievance remained unredressed. They ultimately filed separate grievance petitions which were allowed by order mentioned above.
2. In their reply statement the Appellant Management denied the factual allegations of the workers and took Legal Objections that the grievance petition was not maintainable and the respondents were not workmen and hence I.R.O. 1969 and Standing Orders Ordinance, 1968 were not applicable to them.
3. I heard the arguments of the learned counsel of both the parties and with their assistance also went through the relevant documents available on record. In course of arguments apart from the above Legal Objections the Appellant Management raised with vehemence the objection with regard to jurisdiction of the Court. According to learned counsel of the Appellant after amendment of Service Tribunals Act, 1973 whereby section 2-A was introduced in the said Act. The Appellant Organisation and all workers employed therein came to be governed by said amendment.
Consequently the respondents workmen became Civil Servants by force of the said amendment and in that capacity they could approach the Service Tribunal for the desired relief instead of Labour Court. In view of the objection with regard to jurisdiction, it was agreed by the learned counsel that they would first of all confine their arguments only to the question of jurisdiction. To appreciate their argument in this behalf it may be pertinent to first refer to the amendment in question. It is reproduced as under:-- "2-A. Service under certain corporations, etc. To be service of Pakistan---Service under any authority, corporation, body or organisation established by or under a Federal Law or which is owned or controlled by the Federal Government or in which the Federal Government has a controlling share or interest is hereby declared to be service of Pakistan and every person holding a post under such authority, corporation, body or organisation shall be deemed to be a civil servant for the purpose of this Act.'
The above section clearly shows that service under Authority, Corporation, Body or Organisation which has been established by or under Federal Law; Or which is owned or controlled by the Federal Government; Or in which the Federal Government has a controlling share or interest; has been declared to be service of Pakistan and every person holding a post under such Authority, Corporation, Bony or Organisation shall be deemed to be Civil Servant. The Karachi Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited, hereinafter referred to as Appellant Organisation, is undoubtedly Body or Organisation which, as provided in subsection (1) of section 35 of Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969 shall be deemed to be registered under the said Ordinance if it was functioning before its commencement obviously the Appellant Organisation was established prior to promulgation of the above Ordinance and hence by the above provision of law it was deemed to have been registered under the said Ordinance. This means to say that the said Organisation was set-up 'under rather than' by the said Ordinance. The position has been further clarified by the Certificate, dated 18th May, 1998 issued by Corporate Law Authority which inter alia states that Karachi Stock Exchange was governed by the provisions of above Ordinance of 1969 and was regulated by Corporate Law Authority Government of Pakistan which is admittedly an attached Department of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Statistics. Thus, the functioning of the Karachi Stock Exchange "was governed" or in other words "carried on" in accordance with the provisions of 1969 Ordinance and it was run under the guidance and supervision of Corporate Law Authority, also a Government Body. It is further clear from subsections (4) and (5) of section 34 of the aforesaid Ordinance that the Central Government has power to direct in writing the Stock Exchange to make any Regulation or amend or rescind any Regulation already made within such period it may specify in this behalf and where the Stock Exchange fails or neglects to comply with such directions, the Central Government may make or amend with or without modification or rescind any Regulation directed to be made, amended or rescinded and the Regulations so made, amended or rescinded by the Central Government shall be deemed to have been made, amended or rescinded by the Stock Exchange in accordance with provisions of this section and shall have effect accordingly.
4. Accordingly the Stock Exchange is not only regulated in accordance with Federal Law but the Federal Government exercises its control in respect of its working through Corporate Law Authority which is a Government Authority and works as attached Department of the Ministry of Finance Economics Affairs and Statistics. Since the Karachi Stock Exchange as a Body or Organisation is covered by section 2-A, the amendment referred to above, service under the said Organisation will be service of Pakistan and consequently every person holding a post under the said Karachi Stock Exchange shall be deemed to be a Civil Servant. In that capacity Service Tribunal rather than Labour Court has jurisdiction to redress the grievance of the employees of the Appellant Organisation. On coming into force of the amendment made in the Service Tribunals Act, 1973 in the shape of section 2-A referred to above the Labour Courts ceased to have any jurisdiction in respect of the cases filed by employees of Appellant Organisation and pending before the said Labour Courts.
5. In reply to the arguments made by learned counsel of the Appellant Organisation the learned counsel for the respondents in written arguments invited my attention to the Order, dated 13th day of April, 1998 of Sindh Labour Court No,V. Obviously this order was passed on the Application dated 30th October, 1997 moved on behalf of the Appellant Organisation in course of the proceedings before the Labour Court. This said application is at page 223 of Lower Court record. It was prayed in the said application that since the Respondents' Establishment (i,e, Appellant Organisation) was controlled and was working under the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad and that the applicant (i,e, respondent Adil Abdul Jabbar) in course of his cross-examination had made an admission that Karachi Stock Exchange worked under Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, the Hon'ble Court may, in view of amendment in Service Tribunal Act, 1973 in the shape of section 2-A, dismiss the petition filed by above respondent summarily for want of jurisdiction.
Disagreeing with the contentions raised by the Advocate of respondents' organisation the learned Labour Court dismissed the application mainly on the ground that Appellant Organisation was neither owned nor controlled by the Federal Government. This was not the only requirement which could bring the Appellant Organisation within four corners of section 2-A as stated above. In the alternative if it was proved that the Appellant Organisation was established by or under Federal Law or further the Federal Government had any interest in the said Organisation even then it would be covered by the aforesaid amendment. Even the argument 'of the Labour Court that Appellant Organisation was neither owned nor controlled by the Federal Government was not wholly correct.
It may not be the ownership of the said Government but as has been made clear in the foregoing paragraphs the Federal Government definitely l'as control in respect of the Appellant Organisation.
Disagreeing with the learned Labour Court I hold the view that the Appellant Organisation (i,e,, Karachi Stock Exchange) was covered by the amendment (i,e, section 2-A) in the Service Tribunals Act and as such the service under the said Organisation was service in Pakistan and all persons holding post in the said Organisation were Civil Servants.
' In view of above discussion the order passed by the learned Labour Court allowing the grievance petition of the respondents was without jurisdiction and hence illegal. It is consequently set aside. If the respondents so desire they may take their grievance to the Service Tribunal within thirty days of this Order.