LAHORE   -  The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday struck down Para 51 of the Passport and Visa Manual 2006, allowing authorities to blacklist the passport of a person, after declaring the same as ultra vires.

The court passed the orders on petitions filed by Sheikh Shan Elahi and Anwar Shah challenging the step of blacklisting their passports by relevant authorities under Para 51 of the manual. In a written judgement released here, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh noted that the manual had been prepared to carry out the objectives of the Passports Act which was the governing law. "However, Section 8 of the Passports Act talks only about cancellation, impounding and confiscation of passports. It does not say anything about blacklisting which is a category apart. The Passports Rules, 1974, are equally silent on the issue. Para 51 goes beyond the legislative policy of the Passports Act and is, therefore, ultra vires," it added.

The court noted that the deputy attorney general had submitted that striking down Para 51 would have serious repercussions. "It is trite that the courts have to decide cases in accordance with the law for the time being in force and if a situation arises due to any flaw or lacuna therein, the Parliament must play its role" it added. The court held that the right to go abroad was an integral part of the fundamental rights to life and liberty and it could be restricted only under a law made in the public interest. The state can only bar a person from travelling abroad under the Exit Control Ordinance, 1981, the court observed, adding that it could put the names of only those people on the Exit Control List (ECL) who had been nominated in cases of serious nature.

The court further held that the government was bound to issue a show-cause notice to its citizen two weeks prior to the cancellation of his or her passport. “The federal government can cancel the passport of only that person without notice who has worked against the national interests. The government neither ordered the petitioners to return the passports nor cancelled their documents. In fact, the government acted against these individuals under the Para 51 of the Passport and Visa Manual, which was against the spirit of law-making.

The court, allowing both petitions, declared the blacklisting of the petitioners without lawful authority and of no legal effect.