By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has struck down the federal government’s power to inactivate citizens’ passports and impose travel bans lasting five years or more by placing individuals on the Passport Control List, declaring such measures beyond the bounds of existing law.
The decision, delivered by Justice Asim Hafeez at the court’s Multan bench, nonetheless preserved the government’s ability to cancel, impound or confiscate passports, provided statutory requirements are met. The verdict came in response to a petition by Farhan Ali, a citizen who challenged both the dismissal of his appeal against his placement on the list and the broader legality of passport inactivation.
Ali’s case highlighted what the court described as arbitrary executive overreach. He argued that an order rejecting his representation as premature should be overturned, and that the power to inactivate passports under Rule 23 of the Passports Rules, 2021, lacked foundation in Section 8 of the Passports Act, 1974, which permits only cancellation, impounding or confiscation.
Justice Hafeez agreed, noting that Ali’s request to have his name removed from the Passport Control List had been denied under clause (c) of sub-rule (2) of Rule 22 of the Passports Rules, 2021, which sets a standard retention period of five years or more. The judge pointed out that individuals in Category B — which includes those refused passports for reasons unrelated to anti-state activities, or placed there on recommendations from government agencies — could potentially be removed from the list before five years if an appeal was pending.
But the court found clause (c) of sub-rule (2) of Rule 22 to be without statutory support, labelling it “arbitrary, disproportionate, and beyond the scope of the parent law.” Justice Hafeez emphasised that the provision provided no guidelines for determining appropriate restraints and granted the executive unchecked discretion.
On the matter of passport inactivation, the judge ruled that Section 8 of the Passports Act, 1974, made no provision for such a step. He declared the relevant clause “substantially ultra vires the law” and instructed the federal government to adjust restraint periods based on the severity of offences, arguing that an illegal overstay abroad should not be treated the same as migrant smuggling, human trafficking or criminal acts committed overseas.
Justice Hafeez portrayed inactivation as an “informal action — wrapped in obscurity — often used to avoid procedural requirements and due-process obligations under the law.” He added that “surreptitious inactivation” had left travellers in “unexpected and humiliating situations at airports despite holding valid passports and visas.”
The judge further determined that Rule 23 of the Passports Rules, 2021, clashed with the framework of the parent law, stating that delegated legislation oversteps when it surpasses statutory boundaries or substitutes legislative intent with executive whim. “Inactivation of a passport manifests denial of the right to travel in a covert manner not envisaged by the Act,” he observed.
In his written verdict, Justice Hafeez concluded: “I hold that power to inactivate passport under Rule 23 of the Rules 2021 is beyond the scope of Section 8 of the Act 1974 and same is declared ultra vires — only the power to inactivate is declared invalid and powers to cancel, impound or confiscate are intact and exercisable subject to the existence of conditions and fulfilment of requirements.”
The ruling is set to take effect in 30 days, giving the federal government time to amend the rules to align with Section 8 of the Passports Act, 1974. The court allowed Ali’s petition, nullifying the challenged order from Oct. 6, 2025, and directing the government to reconsider his representation in accordance with the judgment.
The decision followed arguments presented by Ali’s counsel, as well as law officers for the federal government and representatives from the Federal Investigation Agency and the Immigration and Passports Department.
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