ISLAMABAD, Oct 22 (APP):The Supreme Court has ruled that service rules of 1990 apply only to the initial probationary period of employment and cannot be used to alter the seniority of officers who have completed probation and entered regular service.
The court set aside the Federal Service Tribunal’s judgment of September 19, 2025, concerning the seniority of Pakistan Railways officers.
In a written judgment authored by Justice Ayesha A. Malik, the Supreme Court held that seniority determined under a long-standing departmental practice and on the basis of merit secured in the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination could not be disturbed retrospectively.
The judgment declared that Pakistan Railways’ decision to revise old seniority lists and apply the changes retrospectively was unlawful.
According to the judgment, the department had followed the practice of determining officers’ seniority on the basis of their merit in the CSS examination for several decades. However, Pakistan Railways issued a revised seniority list on August 27, 2014, which was subsequently set aside by the Service Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
Later, the department issued provisional seniority lists on June 29, 2022, and March 20, 2023, again based on merit in the CSS examination. Several officers challenged these lists before the Federal Service Tribunal.
In its September 19, 2025, judgment, the tribunal annulled the railway department’s lists and directed it to prepare fresh seniority lists under the 1990 service rules.
The Supreme Court held that the seniority of civil servants who had completed their probationary period and entered regular service should not be disturbed by applying rules governing the initial stage of employment.
It further ruled that Pakistan Railways could not retrospectively alter seniority already determined under the established departmental practice.
The court accordingly set aside the Federal Service Tribunal’s judgment.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
