The Sindh High Court on Thursday stopped Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) from conducting exams, announcing results or advertising posts until it adopts and apprises the court about steps to ensure transparency in its functions. The Hyderabad Circuit Bench comprising justice Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and justice Muhammad Saleem Jessar, after hearing arguments of the commission’s officers and counsel suspended the SPSC’s functions till the next date of hearing slated for May 27, 2021. The court was hearing the petition filed by the Dr. Asma Makhdoom’s Counsel Advocate Sajjad Chandio against the alleged malpractices of corruption and nepotism by SPSC in which petitioner claimed that the SPSC recruited 945 medical officers of PBS-17 against 1047 vacant seats through direct interviews by violating the rules and procedures of the commission and announced results on September 16, 2019. The Court observed that none of the officer including Chairman SPSC, Controller examination or Counselor gave satisfactory answer regarding measures being taken during testing and recommending a candidate for a particular post by the Commission for ensuring transparency. It was also noticed by the court that SPSC did not abide by the previous supreme court’s orders on the pretext that those orders were for a specific case not a permanent part of its recruitment policy. The SPSC sort time for taking steps to achieve transparency and compiling report of the fact. The Singh Public Service Commission (SPSC) which was established by the government to ensure merit, transparency and recruitment of capable and suitable youths for the higher positions in government service had turned into a hub of corruption, nepotism and Slaughterhouse of the merit and justice. The Chairman SPSC, who must be a custodian of merit proved to be the Chief murderer of the merit. Over the years, the institution had recruited undeserving and incapable candidates for the sake of grabbing money from them and now the Province had turned in to a hub of corruption and problems. The SPSC staff and officers had been involved in tempering results, changing papers of the candidates, disclosure of the question paper before time and other regularities in the recruiting process. There are numerous reported and unreported cases of recruitment against the merit and in violation of the rules and procedure by the SPSC. According to reports, an anti-corruption court convicted a SPSC member, Ramesh Udeshi on the charges of corruption and awarded him four years imprisonment in 2011.
In 2018, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had investigated a case into the appointment in violations of rules and regulations by SPSC, in which 18 officers of Sindh government secured the positions through use of illegal means in Central Competitive Examination CCE 2003-04 held in July 2003. The court dismissed all 18 officers in its judgement on the charges of influencing the authorities of SPSC during their recruitment process, however, the corruption cases against the officers of SPSC are pending so far.
Presently, Sindh High Court is taking concrete steps during hearing of the case to halt the corruption in the recruitment body of the provincial government. The Court issued arrest warrants of the Chairman of SPSC, suspended its secretary, and stop all routine operations of the institution until implementation of the court’s orders. Hopefully, conclusion of the case and convection of the accused officers of SPSC will set future direction of the Commission. The court’s decision would help save the right of talented youths, promote merit and transparency in the province.
