Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Section: 199

Tagline Constitutional petition challenging date of birth dismissed; judicial finality of civil court decisions and estoppel prevent reopening of service record disputes at the fag end of service. Summary The petitioner, a Naib Qasid employed with the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, disputed his recorded date of birth. He initially filed a civil suit, which was dismissed and upheld on appeal. He subsequently pursued the matter before the Labour Court and the Labour Appellate Tribunal. Following a remand by the High Court, the Labour Appellate Tribunal ultimately dismissed his appeal, ruling that the claim for changing his date of birth was time-barred and meritless. The petitioner challenged this decision through a constitutional petition, relying on a NADRA report that recorded his birth year as 1956 based on an untraceable manual identity card. The High Court dismissed the petition on the following grounds: Finality of Judgments: The issues resolved in the initial civil proceedings had attained finality and could not be re-agitated or subjected to collateral challenge in constitutional jurisdiction. Fag End of Service Rule: Seeking correction of age at the very end of a professional career is legally discouraged as it disrupts service structure and established rights. Estoppel: The petitioner’s self-declaration of age (28 years) at the time of his appointment in 1976 constitutes an admission, creating an estoppel against asserting a contrary position later. Evidentiary Value of Administrative Records: The NADRA report, based on untraceable manual records, has weak evidentiary value and cannot override or displace final judicial determinations. Scope of Writ Jurisdiction: Constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199 is restricted to correcting jurisdictional defects and patent illegalities; it does not extend to the reappraisal of evidence or factual reviews. ORDER; Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, J. – The petitioner, was employed as a Naib Qasid with the respondent–Trading Corporation of Pakistan and raised a dispute regarding his date of birth. Initially, he filed Civil Suit No. 76 of 2008, which was dismissed by the…