All executive actions must be firmly grounded in law: FCC

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) declared that all executive actions must be firmly grounded in law and must derive their validity from legal authority. A two-member FCC bench of Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Rozi Khan Barrech ruled that in an appeal of Chief Secretary of Balochistan against the Balochistan High Court (BHC) decision. The bench upheld the High Court order and dismissed the appeal. The petitioners (Chief Secretary, Government of Balochistan) and others through Notification No. 13-25(5)/2019/SO-1 (S&GAD) sought to grant facilities to the retired Chief Secretaries of Balochistan and their widows for life time. READ ALSO: Inheritance rights: FCC rectifies decades-old injustice The respondent (Bayazid Khan Kharooti) challenged the notification before the Balochistan High Court (BHC), which struck down the notification, and formed opinion that “(the) entitlement to perks and privileges for a retired Chief Secretary, or any other public servant, is determined by the laws and regulations of the specific jurisdiction” and “claiming of additional perks and privileges that too without backing of Law, Rules, Regulations, is not permissible because the specific perks and privileges granted to retired Chief Secretaries are always outlined in the relevant legislation, rules, or policies of the Provincial Government and these provisions may differ from one jurisdiction to another”. The FCC upheld the High Court verdict and noted that the notification(s) issued by the petitioners, granting extraordinary facilities to the retired Chief Secretaries of the Government of Balochistan, are over and above the pensionary benefits granted to them. The Rules of Business do not empower the government of Balochistan to issue such directions by way of notification, especially when, there is no backing of law. The FCC judgment, authored by Justice Aamir Farooq, said that the Balochistan Rules of Business, 2012 does not support the contention advanced by the learned counsels. The Additional Advocate General contended before the FCC that perks and privileges may lawfully be extended to the Chief Secretary under the Balochistan Rules of Business, 2012. However, the judgment noted that Rule 3(4) delineates the structure and composition of the Government of Balochistan by distributing its business among various departments, as specified in Schedule-I (Section B). The rule makes it clear that each department is to exercise only those functions that are expressly assigned to it therein. It said Schedule-I (Section B) specifically entrusts the Finance Department with the authority to frame civil service rules relating to pension, leave, pay revision, and their interpretation for all government servants. This allocation indicates that any matters concerning pensionary benefits, including those of the Chief Secretary, fall within the exclusive domain of the Finance Department, rather than the Chief Secretary himself or even the Chief Minister. However, in the present case, the impugned perks and privileges were granted through a notification issued by the Services and General Administration Department, with the approval of the Chief Minister as the competent authority. The judgment said that such authority is neither contemplated nor supported by the Rules of Business’; therefore, the action appears to have been taken without proper legal basis. The Court noticed that Section 19 of the Balochistan Civil Servants Act, 1974 provides that “on retirement from service, a civil servant shall be entitled to receive such pension, or gratuity, as may be prescribed”. It added so, this provision of the Act makes civil servants of the Balochistan government, including the chief secretary, to be subject to such pension or gratuity as may be prescribed. The judgment said that the pension so prescribed is also governed under Balochistan Civil Servants Pension Rules, 1989 which provides for the rules relating to Civil Servants and their pension. The perks and privileges granted to the Chief Secretary find no mention in the Rules either and thus has no basis in law. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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