The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Thursday dismissed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s appeal challenging the appointment of a master’s degree holder as a sanitary worker, thereby affirming the Peshawar High Court’s earlier ruling.
A three-judge bench led by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi presided over the case. During proceedings, a district education officer appeared to represent the provincial government. Justice Rizvi expressed sharp criticism of the situation, sarcastically noting the irony of a highly educated individual being assigned menial cleaning duties.
He questioned, “Is it now expected that someone with a master’s degree should work as a sweeper? This is a significant tragedy.” Upon inquiry, the district education officer confirmed that the individual’s tasks involved sweeping and cleaning.
Justice Rizvi voiced his disapproval, emphasizing the shame in forcing a young graduate to perform such work. He further remarked that dismissing the employee after a decade of service would be unjust. Instead, the court directed the KP government to reassign the individual to a position that matches his academic qualifications.
The KP additional advocate general informed the court that no vacant sanitary worker positions currently exist in the province. Justice Rizvi responded with surprise, commenting, “Has Khyber Pakhtunkhwa become so clean that it no longer requires sanitary workers? I had only heard of Punjab being that clean.”
In a significant development, the FCC upheld the Peshawar High Court’s verdict and rejected the provincial government’s appeal, reinforcing the need for appropriate job placement based on qualifications.
