The Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared that a citizen’s Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) is a fundamental right that cannot be taken away. The court set aside a Family Court order directing the blocking of a citizen’s CNIC. The ruling reinforces legal protections for citizens’ identity rights and limits the powers of lower courts.
Justice Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir issued an eight-page written judgment while deciding an appeal filed against the Family Court’s order. The petitioner argued that the Family Court had ordered the CNIC to be blocked after he failed to appear before the court. The High Court examined whether such an order was legally permissible.
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In its judgment, the court observed that a CNIC establishes a citizen’s legal identity and cannot be arbitrarily withdrawn. It held that a Family Court has no authority to order the blocking of a national identity card. The judgment also referred to existing Supreme Court directions governing the issue.
According to the written order, the petitioner’s lawyer informed the court that his client was outside Pakistan when the Family Court summoned him. The lawyer argued that the absence was not deliberate and should not have resulted in such an order. The High Court considered these submissions while deciding the appeal.
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The case arose from maintenance proceedings initiated by the petitioner’s wife before the Family Court. She had approached the court to seek enforcement of a maintenance order. The latest LHC ruling clarifies that enforcement proceedings cannot override a citizen’s legal right to possess a valid CNIC.