Courts told not to interfere in recruitment by institutions.

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court on Monday held that courts should refrain from interfering in the internal governance of institutions in case it did not entertain an overqualified candidate for an advertised post.

'We hold that that autonomy and free choice of an employing institution must be respected and should be allowed to recruit according to the criteria advertised,' observed Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah in a judgment he wrote.

Headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, a three-judge bench had taken up an appeal of Waqas Aslam against Nov 21, 2019, Lahore High Court order in an intra-court appeal (ICA).

Recruitment should be made strictly in accordance with the criteria in the advertisement and the recruitment policy of a company since any deviation of the criteria would allow entry of ineligible persons and deprive many eligible candidates, Justice Shah observed.

Petitioners including Waqas Aslam and some other candidates had applied for the post of Line Superintendent (LS) Grade-I (BPS15) at the Lahore Electric Supply Company Limited (Lesco) in pursuance of an advertisement in 2015.

Autonomy and free choice of an employing institution must be respected, says SC

The petitioners hold BS in Electrical Engineering (BS degree) and were overqualified for the post advertised as the required qualification for the post was a Diploma in Associate Engineering (Electrical) (DAE) with 'B' Grade from any government Poly Technical Institute plus three years' experience.

However, the petitioners were not considered for the post on the ground that they did not meet the eligibility criteria/selection requirement as per the advertisement. The refusal by Lesco was challenged by the petitioners through a constitutional petition, which was allowed by a judge of the high court with a direction to Lesco to appoint the petitioners to the posts.

In return, Lesco challenged the order through the ICA which was allowed on Nov 21, 2019, by holding that the petitioners did not meet the requirement of the advertisement and secondly that the petitioners being overqualified for the post were not suitable for the position. The petitioners later challenged the judgment before the Supreme Court.

Justice Shah observed that Lesco publically advertised various posts including 89 posts of LS, clearly specifying the eligibility criteria/qualification requirement for the posts. The eligibility criteria settled by the company and duly advertised in the public advertisement...

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