| Citation(s) |
|---|
| 2026 SLD 3554 |
Lahore High Court
Civil Revision No.106767 of 2017
Presented By: (MOHSIN AKHTAR KAYANI) JUDGE
DATE OF HEARING: 18.05.2026 PETITIONER BY: Mr. Jamil Khan, Advocate. RESPONDENTS BY: Mr. Shahid Mahmood, Advocate. ON COURT’S CALL: Raja Khurram Shahzad, Deputy Attorney General for Pakistan along with Hamid Rafique, Law Officer NADRA and Ms. Fiza Shahid, Director General, NADRA Lahore. LEGAL ASSISTANCE BY: Mr. Muhammad Farooq-e-Azam, Civil Judge/Research Officer, Lahore High Court, Lahore.
Civil Revision No.106767 of 2017
Presented By: (MOHSIN AKHTAR KAYANI) JUDGE
DATE OF HEARING: 18.05.2026 PETITIONER BY: Mr. Jamil Khan, Advocate. RESPONDENTS BY: Mr. Shahid Mahmood, Advocate. ON COURT’S CALL: Raja Khurram Shahzad, Deputy Attorney General for Pakistan along with Hamid Rafique, Law Officer NADRA and Ms. Fiza Shahid, Director General, NADRA Lahore. LEGAL ASSISTANCE BY: Mr. Muhammad Farooq-e-Azam, Civil Judge/Research Officer, Lahore High Court, Lahore.
National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)
VS
. Khalid Khan & another.
Law: Constitution of Pakistan 1973
Section: 199
Law: National Database and Registration Authority Ordinance, 2000
Section: 5(4)(f), 8(1), 9(1), 14, 17 & 18
Law: Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951
Section: 19
Law: Code Of Civil Procedure, 1908.
Section: 9, 115, 11
Law: Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984
Section: 70, 71, 117
Summary The Lahore High Court allowed NADRA's civil revision, set aside the concurrent judgments of the courts below, and held that disputes relating to citizenship status and blocked CNICs cannot ordinarily be decided through a civil suit. The Court ruled that where NADRA questions a person's citizenship and initiates verification proceedings, the aggrieved person must first exhaust the statutory remedies under the NADRA Ordinance, 2000, the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, and the NADRA (National Identity Card) Rules, 2002. Since the respondents failed to produce documentary evidence establishing their family's Pakistani citizenship prior to 1979 and ignored the statutory verification mechanism, the civil suit was held to be not maintainable. The Court directed the respondents to approach the NADRA Verification Board within 30 days, which was directed to decide the matter after hearing them within 60 days. The Court also issued comprehensive practice directions for civil courts regarding citizenship and CNIC disputes. Tagline Disputes concerning citizenship status and blocked CNICs fall within the exclusive statutory framework of the NADRA Ordinance and the Pakistan Citizenship Act; civil suits are barred by necessary implication unless statutory remedies are first exhausted. ORDER; MOHSIN AKHTAR KAYANI, J:- Through this civil revision, the petitioner-NADRA has assailed the concurrent findings of the judgment and decree dated 19.01.2017, passed by learned Senior Civil Judge, Sialkot, and the judgment and decree dated 23.08.2017, passed by learned Additional District Judge, Sialkot, whereby the suit for declaration filed by the respondents has been decreed concurrently with a direction to the petitioner-NADRA to issue the CNICs of the respondents. Learned counsel for the petitioner-NADRA contends that the respondents filed a suit whereby respondent No.1 Khalid Khan claims that he was born on 04.04.1986 and his CNIC was issued on 12.05.2009 with the expiry date as 30.04.2016, whereas respondent No.2 Atta Ullah was born on 02.01.1989 and he was issued his CNIC on 21.03.2009, which expired on 28.02.2019. Learned counsel further contends that…