Islamabad High Court Sets Aside Forced Retirement Of NIH Employee, Orders Payment Of Retirement Benefits
ISLAMABAD, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – September 15, 2026)
Islamabad High Court (IHC) has accepted a petition filed by National Institutes of Health (NIH) employee Muhammad Safdar Iqbal against his forced retirement, setting aside the penalty and directing authorities to provide him all benefits admissible on normal retirement.
Justice Shah Rukh Arjumand announced the 14-page written judgment, declaring void the forced retirement order dated November 13, 2018 and the appellate order dated July 2, 2019.
The court observed that the penalty of forced retirement imposed on the petitioner could not be sustained in accordance with law. It noted that the petitioner had attained the prescribed age of retirement on December 31, 2022, and his case should therefore be treated as having concluded through normal retirement.
The relevant authorities were directed to determine all outstanding service, retirement and pension benefits payable to the petitioner and release them after making necessary legal adjustments. The court further directed that the petitioner be provided the benefits he would have received upon retirement at the normal age.
The authorities were directed to complete the process within three months of receiving a certified copy of the judgment.
The court observed that the inquiry committee’s report did not clearly establish that the petitioner had deliberately altered answer sheets. Statements of the students examined during the inquiry also did not support the main allegation, while there were significant contradictions in the statements of the principal and other members of the admission committee. The inquiry committee had acknowledged that all three students had themselves used red ballpoint pens in the examination. The court observed that the petitioner could not be held responsible merely on the basis of differences in the pattern of circles on the answer sheets.
The judgment stated that the allegation of corruption or deliberate alteration had ultimately not been established during the inquiry, but the departmental authorities proceeded on the assumption that the charge had been proved, which suffered from a legal infirmity.
The court held that the matter did not require a fresh assessment of disputed facts, as the record itself demonstrated that the allegation had not been proved. Consequently, the IHC allowed the petition and set aside both the forced retirement order and the appellate order.
