' MUHAMMAD IQBAL KHAN (MEMBER).---The appeal is directed against order dated 27-11-2000 whereby the order of grant of pay of Rs,500 per month effective from 1-1-1999 was cancelled.
2. The brief facts are that the appellant, Gul Zarin Khattak while working as Superintendent in Health Insurance Zone, Principal Office, State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC) was granted special pay of Rs,500 p.m. Vide orders dated 24-4-2000 effective from 1-1-1999 for meritorious services. The orders granting the special pay were subsequently withdrawn vide impugned order dated 27-11-2000 on the ground that order dated 24-4-2000 was not issued with the approval of the Competent Authority. The appellant submitted his departmental appeal dated 28-11-2000, which did not evoke any response from the respondent-department. The appellant filed service appeal in the Tribunal on 28-3-2001. The appellant on acceptance of his request for retirement under the Scheme of Voluntary Retirement/Separation of Employees of S.L.I.C. Retired from the service of the respondent-department with effect from 30-11-2000
3. Heard the parties and perused the documents.
4. Let us first deal with the question of limitation as raised by the respondent-department.
According to the version of the respondents the appellant filed his service appeal in the Tribunal on 4-6-2001 after submitting his departmental appeal on 28-11-2000. Perusal of record, however shows that the appellant filed his service appeal on 28-3-2001, after waiting for statutory period of 90 days during which his appeal was not responded to, hence the appeal is not hit by bar of limitation and was filed within time.
5. The appellant was sanctioned special pay vide letter dated 24-4-2000 which reads as under:-- "ORDER ' The management is pleased to grant special pay of Rs,500 p.m. To Mr. Gulzarian Khan Khattak, Superintendent, Health Inssurance Zone, Principal Office with effect from 1-1-1999 for his meritorious performance."
' The special pay was sanctioned for meritorious service rendered by the appellant to the department with effect from 1-1-1999. The special pay was sanctioned to the appellant under Regulation 7 of State Life Employees (Services) Regulations, 1973 amended upto 31-12-1981 which is reproduced below for facility of reference:-- "7. Special Pay.---Special pay not exceeding (1) (Rs,500) p.m. May be granted by the Chairman and special pay exceeding (2) (Rs, 500) but not exceeding (3) (Rs,750) p.m. May be granted by the Executive Committee of the Board Special Pay exceeding (4) (Rs, 750) p.m. Will require the approval of the Board."
' The nothing leading to the issuance of the order dated 24-4-2000 containing approval of the Chairman, SLIC is placed at page 107 of the memo. Of appeal. It will be observed that the Chairman S.L.I.C. Approved the grant of special pay to the appellant strictly in accordance with the Regulation 7 of the S.L.I.C. Employees Service Regulations as reproduced above.
6. The view of the respondent-department is that the orders to grant special pay to the appellant were issued without the approval of the Competent Authority which in this case was the Board of Directors. The respondents have submitted that the S.L.I.C. Board bf Directors in its 149th Meeting held on 15-11-1999 amended the Regulation No,7 of the S.L.I.C. Employees Service Regulations wherein the Competent Authority to sanction special pay is now vested in the S.L.I.C. Board of Directors. The respondents further submitted that the amendment has been duly incorporated in the Manual of Delegations of Administrative Powers of the department. As per item 12 of the Manual, powers to grant special pay has been vested in the S.L.I.C. Board of Directors. On the observation of the Tribunal whether Regulation 7 has been properly amended by issuance of any notification, the answer of the learned counsel for the respondents was in the negative. On further query of the Tribunal whother the provisions of the Admn. Manual have overriding effect on Regulation 7 of S.L.I.C. Employees Service Regulations, 1973 without formally amending the Regulation 7 through a notification, the learned counsel for the respondents has no answer to this observation. It will not be out of place to mention that amendments in the State Life Employees (Services) Regulations, 1973 are carried out through notification in Gazette of Pakistan Extraordinary. One such amendment in the Regulations 8,9, 21 and 71 was made by Notification in the Gazette of Pakistan Extraordinary, Part-II dated 13th May, 1974. Other amendments in the above regulations were made upto 31-12-1991 and reflected as such in the Service Regulations. The amendment approved by the Board of Directors in its 149th meeting, vesting the powers for grant of special pay to its employees by the Board instead of the Chairman S.L.I.C. Was not notified, hence withdrawal of special pay granted under Regulation 7 on the ground that it stood delegated to the Board of Directors vide Admn. Manual as mentioned above is not legally tenable. Decisions of the Board taken in its 149th meeting held on 15-114999 though corporated in the Admn. Manual but not properly notified, do not carry any legal sanctity and cannot modify the provision of Regulation 7 of S.L.I.C. Service Regulations. Apart from the above, we have observed very inhuman attitude on the part of the respondent-department. The appellant had accepted retirement on voluntary retirement Scheme with effect from 30-11-2000. If the department felt that the approval of the S.L.I.C. Board of Directors was required, the requisite approval from the Board should not have posed any problem. The Chairman had already approved the special pay for the appellant and on this basis, approval of the Board of Directors could be obtained. Withdrawal of the letter dated 24- 4-2000 on the ground that it did not carry the approval of the Board of Directors was arbitrary, unfair and unjust, especially for an employee who was on the verge of retirement after rendering 28 years of meritorious service.
7. Having considered the appeal in all its facets we accept it, set aside the impugned order dated 27-11-2000, and restore the orders dated 24-4-2000 with consequential benefits including recalculation of his retiring benefits as per law within three months of the date of this order under intimation to the Registrar of the Tribunal.
8. No order as to costs.
9. Parties be informed.