LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court has ruled that any person who is offloaded from a flight or otherwise prevented from traveling abroad must be given written reasons at the time such action is taken, declaring the claim to be a substantial legal protection rather than a mere procedural formality.
In a two-page interim order, Justice Ali Zia Bajwa, presiding over the LHC’s Multan Bench, held that written reasons are essential to ensure transparency, accountability and a person’s right to seek redress.
It warned that failure to give such reasons not only violates the principles of natural justice and due process, but also constitutes a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of movement.
The court made it clear that restrictions on travel, especially where a passenger is in possession of valid travel documents, cannot be imposed arbitrarily and must strictly comply with the law. It stressed that any action that restricts personal freedom must have a clear legal basis.
The observations were made during the hearing of a petition challenging the eleventh hour reading of a passenger.
During the hearing, the court questioned the reasons for the petitioner’s discharge. In response, counsel informed the court that no written justification was available.
The court ordered that the petitioner be furnished with a written reason for his discharge well in advance of the next date of hearing.
The court further ruled that any person who is relieved or otherwise prevented from traveling abroad must be provided with a written justification at the time such action is taken.
It clarified that this requirement is not just a procedural formality, but an essential guarantee to ensure transparency, accountability and the individual’s right to seek redress.
Absence of written reasons, the court observed, not only violates the principles of natural justice and due process, but is also a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of movement.
The case was directed to be taken up again on the next court date with instructions to the relevant authorities to assist the court further.
