{
  "id": 9895545,
  "title": "SC bars retrospective curbs on time-scale promotions",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/sc-bars-retrospective-curbs-on-time-scale-promotions",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-26T02:58:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2032688/sc-bars-retrospective-curbs-on-time-scale-promotions"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Supreme Court of Pakistan has directed various government departments, including the Prime Minister's Office, Establishment Division, Ministry of Finance, and the Federal Public Service Commission, to individually re-examine cases of employees denied time-scale promotions. The court ruled that policy changes cannot be applied retroactively to the detriment of those who had fulfilled the required criteria. The decision was made by a three-judge bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, with Justices Irfan Saadat Khan and Shahid Bilal Hassan also participating.\n\nThe dispute centered on the applicability of several Office Memorandums (OMs) related to time-scale promotions issued by the government over time. The initial criteria for time-scale promotions were established in an OM issued on December 23, 2011, which was subsequently modified four years later and again on March 31, 2021. The controversy intensified on May 9, 2025, when yet another OM announced the withdrawal of the 2015 OM.\n\nIn an eight-page judgment authored by Justice Mazhar, the court emphasized that once a beneficial OM is issued by a competent authority, it is the responsibility of the implementing department to carry out the OM in letter and spirit, without providing any cause for complaint to the employees. The benefits mentioned in the OMs should be granted to all eligible employees, provided they meet the conditions and criteria set forth by the OMs.\n\nThe court clarified that executive notifications and subordinate legislation operate prospectively and cannot have a retroactive effect. This decision was made to protect vested rights and accrued benefits if individuals had already gained them before the modification or change in standards. The court further noted that the fundamental rule of statutory interpretation is that an executive order or notification cannot take away vested, accrued, or substantive rights that individuals already possessed before the notification was issued.\n\nThe court stated that public authorities and departments must not abruptly change policies or practices that have created a legitimate expectation among employees. Doing so without lawful justification would be unjust and could potentially penalize individuals for actions that were lawful when they performed them. The Attorney General assured the court that the departments would reconsider and re-examine the cases of all respondents individually to determine whether they meet the criteria outlined in the OMs, including the length of service for granting time-scale promotions. If the criteria are met, time-scale promotions will be granted to the eligible employees.\n\nThe court also reaffirmed that the OMs, including those issued on March 31, 2021, and May 9, 2025, would not have any retrospective effect. Within three months, the government departments assured the court that they would complete the entire re-examination process and communicate the speaking orders to the respondents individually.",
  "summary": "ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has directed Prime Minister’s Office and several other departments to individually re-examine cases of the employees who were denied time-scale promotions, ruling that policy changes cannot be applied retrospectively to the detriment of those who had fulfilled the required criteria. The SC bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and also comprising Justice Irfan…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}