LAHORE - The Lahore High Court Tuesday restrained the Punjab finance department from deducting contract allowance from the salaries of lecturers who had recently been regularised on their posts.

Justice Shujaat Ali Khan was hearing the case who also ordered the government to pay back what the deduction it had made in the salaries of the teachers.

Advocate Safdar Shaheen Pirzada appeared before the court on behalf of 132 lecturers including Zafar Maqbool Khan, Syed Khurram Wasti, arguing that his clients were hired on the contract basis back in 2002, 06 and in 2007 and 09.

He said the government later regularized the teachers with pay protection but the same was withdrawn by way of amendment by virtue of impugned notification bearing No. SO (CE-III)  61-

18/2010 P-III (18) dated 9-07-2013.

The counsel said the government started making deduction in their salaries for the allowance it had paid earlier as contract allowance.  He said the deduction as illegal and was against the judgments of the Supreme Court which barred the government from making any deduction in the salaries of the government employees.  

The perks and privileges given by the government to its employees could not be withdrawn, he said. The counsel said the government’s notification regarding deduction of the salaries of the teachers was illegal and unlawful.

 The prayed to the court to set aside the notification of the government and barred it from making any deduction in the salary being paid to the lecturers.

The government’s lawyer said that it was the powers of the government and it can deduct the salary for the allowances it paid. Opposing the petitions, the law officer asked the court to dismiss the same.  After hearing arguments of the petitioner’s counsel, Justice Shujaat Ali Khan barred the Punjab Finance department from making any deduction in the salary of the teachers. The petition was disposed of.