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Supreme Court Rules Cantonment Board Employees Are Not Civil Servants
Supreme Court of Pakistan: Employees of cantonment boards cannot be treated as civil servants, cannot approach FST; High Court is the proper forum.
ND
by News Desk
2026-03-18
Supreme Court Rules Cantonment Board Employees Are Not Civil Servants

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that employees of cantonment boards are not considered civil servants under Pakistani law. This landmark decision came in response to a petition filed by a former Sialkot Cantonment Board employee, Qaiser Mehmood, challenging disciplinary actions taken against him.

Mehmood was discharged from service following allegations of misconduct, including subletting government accommodation. After his discharge, he filed a service appeal, which was initially upheld by the Federal Service Tribunal (FST), ordering a de novo inquiry. The cantonment board contested this, arguing that Mehmood was not a civil servant and therefore could not invoke the FST’s jurisdiction.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar explained that the central legal question was whether employees of cantonment boards fall under the definition of civil servants, thus allowing them to seek redress through the FST. He referenced prior statutes and cases, including Section 2A of the Service Tribunal Act, which had initially included cantonment employees under the FST’s purview but was removed in 2010.

The judgment cited the case of Muhammad Mubeenus Salam versus Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2006 SC 602) and clarified that civil servants are defined under Section 2(1)(b) of the Civil Servants Act 1973 as members of All Pakistan Services or holding posts in connection with the affairs of the Federation. Employees of autonomous bodies or local authorities, such as cantonment boards, do not automatically qualify as civil servants.

The court stated: “Every civil servant is in the service of Pakistan, but every person in the service of Pakistan is not a civil servant.”

As a result, the Supreme Court held that cantonment board employees cannot approach the FST for service appeals, and the appropriate forum for such matters is the High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution. The Court dismissed the service appeal of Mehmood before the FST and directed that the office order to conduct a de novo inquiry be implemented within three months.

This ruling has clarified the legal distinction between civil servants and employees of autonomous or local authorities, setting an important precedent for similar cases across Pakistan.
Tagged:

SupremeCourt

PakistanLaw

CivilServants

CantonmentBoards
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