The Pakistani Supreme Court (SCP) declared on Monday that a highly qualified applicant cannot be hired for a low-scale job. The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) appealed the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision to appoint Engineer Waqas to the position of line superintendent in 2015.
The LHC’s judgment was contested by LESCO. After LESCO rejected Mr. Waqas’ application for the position, he moved to the LHC. The hiring of an engineer to fill the position of line superintendent, according to Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, would have an impact on the structure and operation of the company. The decision was not based on discrimination, the jury said. “Despite being highly qualified, an applicant not following the recruiter’s standard could not be hired,” the judgment stated.
The ruling stated that it was not the court’s responsibility to assess a candidate’s eligibility and decide his recruitment. “The recruitment of highly-qualified candidates to low-scale posts has social repercussions as well, as it deprives low-qualified individuals of their due right of employment”, the ruling added.
