ISLAMABAD:The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) has ruled that eligibility criteria for public-sector jobs must be clear, transparent and consistent with the relevant recruitment rules, observing that candidates cannot be disadvantaged by an ambiguous interpretation of an unclear experience requirement in a job advertisement.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi allowed a petition filed by junior clerk candidate Musa Hayat and set aside a Peshawar High Court judgment dated June 20, 2023.
According to the case record, the Provincial Housing Authority advertised vacancies for junior clerks, sub-engineers and other posts in daily Aaj on March 5, 2022. Hayat applied for the junior clerk position, secured 56 marks in the written test held on April 24, 2022, and was subsequently called for an interview on May 31, 2022.
However, he was not appointed, while other candidates were recruited. After his request for the merit list was rejected, he approached the Right to Information Commission. The list was provided to him on July 13, 2022, showing other candidates recommended for appointment. He subsequently challenged his non-selection before the Peshawar High Court, which dismissed his petition.
During the proceedings, the FCCP asked the authorities whether the advertisement specified any particular experience requirement for the junior clerk post. Their representative stated that experience had been mentioned among the general conditions but failed to satisfactorily explain its nature, the applicable policy or how the requirement was applied to the candidates.
The court observed that the relevance of a candidate’s work experience during training could not be determined solely by the designation of the position. The nature of duties, recruitment rules, applicable policy and conditions specified in the advertisement had to be considered.
It held that recruitment authorities must clearly define experience requirements and apply uniform standards to all candidates. The authorities had failed to satisfactorily address the petitioner’s position, warranting an assessment under the original advertisement and applicable recruitment policy.
The FCC converted the petition into an appeal, allowed it and set aside the Peshawar High Court judgment.