LAHORE (Dunya News) – The Lahore High Court has issued a landmark decision regarding NADRA and citizenship disputes, ruling that civil courts will no longer have jurisdiction to directly hear cases involving suspicious citizenship claims. The court also made it mandatory for applicants to approach relevant legal forums before challenging NADRA decisions.
In its detailed 14-page verdict issued on NADRA’s civil review petition, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani stated that individuals facing questions over their citizenship cannot directly approach civil courts or file constitutional petitions without first following the prescribed legal procedure.
The court ruled that such cases must first be taken before the NADRA Verification Board and other legal forums available under the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951. It declared that civil courts do not have authority to entertain such claims without exhausting alternative legal remedies.
The Lahore High Court accepted NADRA’s petition and set aside the decisions of the Senior Civil Judge Sialkot issued on January 19, 2017, and the Additional District Judge Sialkot issued on August 23, 2017.
According to the verdict, individuals whose citizenship is declared suspicious must first approach the NADRA Verification Board. If Pakistani citizenship cannot be established, they will be required to obtain a citizenship certificate from the federal government under the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951.
The court further directed that claimants seeking citizenship must provide authentic evidence proving the residence of their father or grandfather in Pakistan before 1979. The court declared pre-1979 educational certificates, domicile documents, passports or other official records as primary evidence for such claims.
The verdict stated that in cases where required legal conditions have not been fulfilled, parties should be given 30 days to submit necessary documents. Failure to provide the required evidence within the given period would result in rejection of such claims. The court said these directions would also apply to similar cases pending before different courts.
The Lahore High Court further ordered that NADRA Verification Boards must decide citizens’ applications within 60 days. The court also recommended that the federal government amend the NADRA Ordinance to include a provision establishing special jurisdiction for citizenship-related cases.