TANVIR AHMED KHAN, J,- Leave to appeal is sought against the judgment dated 19.2.1998 passed by the Punjab Service Tribunal, Lahore, in Appeal No. 1467 of 1994, whereby respondent No. 1's appeal .Was accepted and the Tribunal declared him entitled, to promotion on regular basis with all back benefits with effect from 1.11.1985.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that respondent No. 1 Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan, could not have been promoted as Kanungos having crossed that upper age limit of 40 years.
This bar, according to him, is manifest from Rule 4(iii) of The Punjab Kanungos Service Rules, 1954, which provides as under:-- "4. Nationality, domicile and age of candidate: No person shall be appointed to the service unless:- -
(a) (i) .................................................................. ........
(ii) .............................................................................................................
(Iii) he is not more than 25 years -of age or in the case of persons appointed from among Patwaris, he is not more than 40 years of age, provided that the Director of Land Records may, in special circumstances, to be recorded in writing, waive such age limits."
Learned counsel has also made reference to Para 2,3 wherein it is provided that in case of candidates after the age of 40 years, the Director of Land Records has been empowered to relax the same in special circumstances. He has further pointed Out that Rule 11 of the West Pakistan Kanungos Service (Northern Zone) Rules, 1964, has saved all these Rules as they are not in conflict with it. He has also pointed out that this practice has been followed for a long period of time by the department and in the circumstances, respondent No. 1, without the waiver by the Director of Land Records, could not have been approved for promotion. Reliance in this respect has been placed upon Nazir Ahmad versus Pakistan and 11 others (PLD 1970 S.C. 453).
3. The above points require consideration. Leave to appeal is, accordingly, granted to inter alia consider the same. The operation of the impugned judgment of the Tribunal shall remain suspended meanwhile.