Islamabad - Thirty three judges from lower judiciary of Islamabad yesterday moved the Islamabad High Court against government’s notification wherein it had withdrawn the allotment of government accommodation to them.
The petitioners approached the court through their counsel Babar Saeed Advocate and cited federation through secretary housing and works, Miraj Muhammad Khan section officer (Policy) Ministry of Housing and Estate Office as respondents.
In their petition, they stated that the judicial officers in Islamabad are eligible and entitled to allotment of government accommodation. The petitioners added that they were given the residence as per their entitlement and that the house rent allowance was also being deducted from their monthly salary.
The petitioners told the court that on 28 March, the respondents without any reason or justification issued a notification whereby the eligibility of the judicial officers for allotment of government accommodation was withdrawn.
They contended that it is the basic principal that all the stakeholders shall be taken in confidence may be given, however, before issuing impugned notification, no such exercise was undertaken.
Petitioners argued that the notification, issued under Rule 28 of AAR, does not give any such right to the respondents to issue any such notification, hence, impugned notification was issued in excess of legal authority of Estate Office.
They maintained that necessary legal and procedural requirements for issuance of notification have not been met before issuance of impugned notification, thus the same is illegal, unlawful and unjustified.
Therefore, the petitioner judges prayed to the court to accept their petition and the said impugned notification may kindly be declared illegal, and issued without any lawful authority.
They further requested that the respondents may be permanently restrained from taking any action, prejudicial to the interests, rights of the petitioners, in continuation of impugned notification.