The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that if any citizen is offloaded while attempting to travel abroad, the relevant authorities are bound to immediately provide written reasons for such action.
The interim written order was issued by Justice Ali Zia Bajwa on a petition filed by Chaudhry Shehryar Qandeel.
The court made it clear that no matter how wide administrative discretion may be, it cannot justify depriving citizens of their constitutional freedoms.
In its order, the court held that if a passenger possesses complete travel documents, they cannot be barred from traveling without following due legal process.
The court noted that officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had sought time to assist the court by clarifying under which legal provisions passengers are offloaded at the last moment before departure.
Justice Ali Zia Bajwa directed law officers to place before the court the specific legal provisions that authorise such actions.
The judge emphasised that whenever the state seeks to restrict a citizen’s personal liberty, it must demonstrate clear legal authority. Preventing a person from traveling abroad merely on the basis of an administrative decision amounts to a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of movement.
During the hearing, the government law officer informed the court that no written reasons were available on record regarding the petitioner’s offloading from the flight, but assured that written reasons would be provided.
The court ruled that written reasons must be given at the very time a person is offloaded, stating that this is not a mere formality but a fundamental safeguard of a citizen’s right to legal remedy.
The judgment further stated that any violation of the principles of due legal process would be considered a clear breach of the constitutional right to freedom of movement.