LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that family courts do not have the authority to order the blocking of a citizen’s Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), declaring such powers beyond their legal jurisdiction.
In an eight-page written judgement issued by Justice Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir, the court set aside the decisions of the family court and the Gujrat Sessions Court that had upheld the blocking of petitioner Nasir Ali Ranjha’s CNIC.
The court observed that a CNIC serves as proof of a citizen’s identity and that this fundamental right cannot be withdrawn through orders issued without legal authority.
The judgement also noted that the Supreme Court had already issued guidelines regarding the blocking of national identity cards.
Maintenance case triggers legal dispute
According to the court’s decision, the petitioner’s wife had approached the family court for enforcement of a maintenance decree in a case related to financial support.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the family court’s order to block the CNIC was challenged before the Gujrat Sessions Court, but the appeal was dismissed.
The counsel further informed the court that the petitioner was outside Pakistan when he was summoned by the family court.
After hearing the arguments, the Lahore High Court accepted the petition and ruled that family courts lacked the legal authority to block CNICs.
The court declared the orders issued by the lower courts as having no lawful effect and set aside the decisions regarding the petitioner’s identity card.
