ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that seniority lists of government employees cannot be withheld and directed all government departments, autonomous bodies and corporations to upload updated lists on their official websites every January.Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi issued the written decision while accepting the appeal of pilot Captain Muhammad Ali Khan in a seniority dispute against Port Qasim Authority.The court declared that employees recruited through the same advertisement and same batch must be ranked according to their merit position in the selection list, not on the basis of joining date. It observed that arbitrary “first come, first served” treatment is against fair public administration and violates equal rights.The court set aside the Sindh High Court judgment, nullified the disputed seniority list issued by Port Qasim Authority and ordered the authority to immediately issue a fresh and lawful seniority list.The ruling also directed that copies of the decision be sent to the chief secretaries of all four provinces for implementation. The court expressed concern that Port Qasim Authority failed to issue a proper seniority list for seven years after regularisation.The Federal Constitutional Court became operational in November 2025 after appointment of its judges, including Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi.
