In a significant relief for educators across the province, a constitutional bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered authorities to immediately suspend all deductions from the salaries and pensions of teachers, pending further proceedings.
The interim directive, issued on Thursday, restrains the Treasury Department and other relevant government bodies from taking any coercive action against teachers until the next hearing. The court’s order came during proceedings on a petition challenging the suspension of the time-scale policy and the subsequent recovery of financial benefits from teachers.
Representing the petitioners, Advocate Asadullah Baloch informed the bench that the case involves both serving and retired educators affiliated with the Sindh Education Department. The petitioners include regular teachers, physical training instructors, and workshop instructors who were promoted or upgraded during their service in accordance with departmental regulations.
According to the petition, these teachers had been receiving salaries aligned with grades 15 to 20 under the provincial government’s time-scale policy. However, the controversy arose after the Finance Department Sindh issued a letter on January 21, followed by an implementation directive from the School Education Department Sindh. These directives resulted in deductions from salaries and initiated recovery proceedings for previously paid benefits.
The petitioners have argued that such recoveries, particularly from retired teachers, are unlawful and unjustified, as the benefits were granted under existing rules and policies at the time.
After hearing preliminary arguments, the court issued notices to the concerned departments, directing them to submit their responses. The bench adjourned the hearing for three weeks, while explicitly ordering that no involuntary deductions be made from teachers’ salaries or pensions during the interim period.
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The case is expected to have wide-ranging implications for thousands of educators across Sindh, as it raises critical questions about the legality of retrospective financial recoveries and the protection of earned benefits.
