All citizens equal before law; entitled to equal protection of law SC.

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday declared that Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees the equal protection of law, not the equal protection of lawlessness, by declaring that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Ayesha A Malik held that on the appeals of two employees of the Pakistan Post.

The appellants, Muhammad Yasin and Mehboob Khan, were working in Pakistan Post Office Department as Clerk and Postmaster, respectively. They applied to the departmental authority for permission to appear in the departmental competitive exam for appointment to the posts of Assistant Superintendent, which was declined to them on the ground that they were above 45 years of age and as such were not eligible for appointment to the said post under the relevant rules.

The petitioners challenged that before the Federal Service Tribunal, which was dismissed. Therefore they filed an appeal against the Tribunal.

The judgment said that an unlawful act cannot be made a standard for enforcing the right to equality guaranteed by the Constitution. 'One illegality cannot be allowed to be compounded by applying the right to equality. The extension of the right to equality to the acts done in violation of law would amount to perpetuating previous unlawful acts and motivating the commission of further illegalities.'

It further said Article 25 of the Constitution has no application to a claim based upon other unlawful acts and illegalities. It comes into operation when some persons are granted a benefit in accordance with law but others, similarly placed and in similar circumstances, are denied that benefit.

It added that such other persons cannot be discriminated against to deny the same benefit, in view of their right to equality before law and equal protection of law guaranteed by Article 25 of the...