KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday directed the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) to file a comprehensive report on the mechanism to address grievances regarding transparency in its Combined Competitive Examination (CCE).

The SHC also ordered the commission to place on record the manner in which the interviews of candidates declared successful in the CCE-2024 would be conducted.

A two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC comprising Justice Muhammad Saleem Jessar and Justice Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro adjourned the hearing till June 17 as the provincial law officers sought more time to file detailed report/comments.

However, the bench extended its earlier interim order suspending the results of CCE-2024 till the next hearing.

SHC extends till 17th interim order to suspend competitive examination results

Initially, Abdul Rehman along with six other aspirants had petitioned the SHC, submitting that they had appeared in the CCE-2024 and the results were announced on May 6 by the SPSC through a press release, wherein only 70 candidates were declared successful. Thereafter, two more identical petitions were filed against the CCE-2024.

On May 14, the SHC suspended the results of CCE-2024 till May 21, ordered the sealing of the entire examination record and directed that it be produced before the court.

At the outset of the hearing on Tuesday, over 20 successful candidates turned up, as they were newly-impleaded respondents in these proceedings.

Their counsel, Syed Saulat Rizvi, Zulifqar Shah and others, argued that the petitioners had not placed any material on record against their clients and that a factual controversy was involved in these matters, which could not be decided in constitutional jurisdiction.

They also questioned the maintainability of the petitions and contended that an adequate statutory remedy was available by way of representation, followed by appeal, to every aggrieved aspirant, and the same has not been exhausted yet.

During the hearing, Justice Jessar remarked that the Federal Public Service Commission was functioning smoothly, but asked why things had not been put in order in Sindh.

The bench also said that a mechanism or standard operating procedure must be put in place to settle these issues once and for all.

The additional advocates general Sindh Hakim Ali Shaikh and Sagheer Ahmed Abbasi have sought time to file comprehensive comments/report on behalf of respondents at the next hearing. Thereafter, the court granted time.

The bench in its order said, “On the next date of hearing, SPSC shall furnish a detailed reply showing a mechanism to address the grievances of the petitioners regarding transparency in the competitive examinations conducted by SPSC”.

“The SPSC shall also bring on record that how and in what manner the interviews of the candidates declared passed shall be conducted. To come up on 17.06.2026. Till then, interim order passed earlier to continue,” it concluded.

Earlier, the petitioners had contended that they had secured high marks in the screening test and had appeared in the written part of the examination and performed well, but under extraneous considerations, the commission had declared only its blue-eyed candidates successful.

They also argued that the SPSC had lost its credibility, as petitioners had filed representations against alleged managed results, but neither any notice has been issued nor any hearing was afforded.

In its reply, the SPSC had also raised objections to the maintainability of the petitions and argued that an adequate, complete, time-bound and statutorily prescribed remedy was available for petitioners by way of representation and appeal.

It further asserted that the role of the commission was confined to the receipt of the marked scripts under sealed cover, tabulation of marks, application of statutory thresholds and announcement of the result, while the confidentiality of scripts and identity of the examiners was statutorily protected under relevant regulations.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2026