Supreme Court limits tribunal route for cantonment staff

The Supreme Court has ruled that employees of cantonment boards are not civil servants and therefore cannot take service-related disputes to the Federal Service Tribunal. The judgement came in a case linked to disciplinary action against a driver employed by the Sialkot Cantonment Board.

The bench held that the legal basis once used to treat employees of certain federal bodies as civil servants for tribunal purposes no longer applies. As a result, the court said such workers must pursue relief through the relevant high court rather than the tribunal system.

The verdict is significant because it clarifies the legal status of cantonment board employees across Pakistan and redraws the route available to them for challenging dismissals, penalties and other service matters.