The Sindh High Court has set aside the appointment of the provincial director of National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency in Sindh, directing authorities to assign the position to the senior most eligible officer on a temporary basis until a formal promotion is made. The ruling came from a two judge constitutional bench headed by Adnan ul Karim Memon, which examined the legality of granting a look after charge of a BS 20 post to a junior officer despite the presence of senior candidates.
In its order, the bench observed that the position could not be filled through a look after arrangement in favor of a junior officer when a senior most eligible officer was available. The court noted that the actions taken by the respondents appeared arbitrary, lacked lawful authority, and violated statutory rules as well as principles established by superior courts. The case was brought before the court by Shahzad Haider, who challenged the appointment after being replaced despite holding the charge of director NCCIA Sindh. He argued that Additional Director Amir Nawaz, who was junior to him and several other officers, had been assigned the acting charge in April last year without following due process.
During the proceedings, counsel for the petitioner, Barrister Zameer Hussain Ghumro, maintained that the appointment order was issued in violation of statutory provisions, emphasizing that the authorities bypassed the required promotion mechanism and instead granted the role arbitrarily. On the other hand, Assistant Advocate General Wajiha Mehdi contended that seniority alone did not guarantee entitlement to temporary assignments and also questioned the jurisdiction of the court, suggesting that the matter should fall within the scope of the services tribunal. However, the bench held that the petition primarily concerned the legality of assigning a look after charge and therefore fell within its constitutional jurisdiction.
The court also examined the broader administrative context, including the transfer of personnel following amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016. It noted that after the 2025 amendment, the cybercrime wing of Federal Investigation Agency was dissolved and its personnel, cases, and assets were transferred to NCCIA through a notification issued on April 25 last year. The bench observed that the subsequent surrender of the petitioner’s services back to FIA appeared to be without lawful authority, raising further concerns about procedural compliance in administrative decisions.
Declaring the impugned office order dated April 30 2025 as legally flawed, the court ruled that the decision to grant the acting charge to a junior officer and to reassign the petitioner lacked justification and had no legal effect. It directed the relevant authorities to assign the acting charge of the director position to the senior most eligible officer as a temporary measure until the post is filled through regular promotion by the competent forum in accordance with applicable rules. The ruling underscores the importance of adherence to established procedures in public sector appointments, particularly in agencies responsible for managing cybercrime and digital enforcement functions in Pakistan.
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