PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has declared the government rules related to registration of birth, death, marriage and divorce by a village / neighbourhood council in apparent violation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act and has directed the provincial government to re-visit the same.

A bench consisting of Justice Fazal Subhan and Justice Shahid Khan disposed of a petition filed by a resident of Nowshera, Faheemullah, who contended that the relevant rules of the KP Birth, Death, Nikkah, Divorce and Dissolution of Marriages (Registration and Verification) Rules, 2021, were not only illegal and a violation of the KP Local Government Act, 2013, but they also created problems for applicants.

The petitioner contended that through the impugned rules a 90-day restriction was placed on applying for registration of a birth, death, marriage etc, which was contrary to the KP Local Government Act, 2013.

He had requested the court to strike down those rules.

Declares the rules to be in violation of provincial local govt law

The petitioner also contended against the rules for imposing fee for issuance of certificates.

The bench ruled that no doubt the said Rules of 2021 was having a time limit of 90 days, however, on the other hand section 29 of the KP Local Government Act (LGA) of 2013 neither provided for imposition of any fee nor it prescribed any time limit for the issuance of birth, marriage or death certificates, etc.

The bench ruled that in the given fact and circumstances of the case, the impugned refusal on part of the respondents was prima facie not only in violation of the KPLGA 2013 but Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution as well as section 24-A of the General Clauses Act as children of the petitioner had not been allowed to avail basic facilities of their day-to-day life including education, health etc.

The bench observed that same was the case with the wife of the petitioner as she had not been extended the benefit of the Sehat Sahulat Card, like other inhabitants of the province.

The bench observed that apart from the petitioner, the said rules would definitely affect many other citizens of the province and they would face the same agonies like that of the petitioner and his family members, so the matter in hand was not a simple one related to an individual but this is a matter in general, which also place the responsibility on the court to resolve this vital issue once for all.

The bench ruled that without touching other merits of the case it deemed it appropriate to dispose of the petition in the terms that the respondent (government) should re-visit the Rules of 2021, by keeping in view the grievance of the petitioner and his family members, in particular his children as well as the interest of general public.

Advocate Shah Faisal Ilyas appeared for the petitioner and said his client had approached his village council for registration of the births of his sons aged seven and three respectively, but the council’s secretary refused to do so insisting that under the 2021 rules, those entries had to be made within 90 days of birth.

He said the father of the petitioner died in 1990 and recently he approached the council for issuance of his death certificate but it was denied by the secretary on the basis of the same 90-day restriction.

The lawyer said the petitioner got married in 2015 and as he required a marriage certificate for his wife’s CNIC, the secretary refused it saying the marriage should have been registered within 90 days under the rules.

He contended that the wife of the petitioner suffered from a serious health issue, so she urgently required the CNIC to avail herself of free medical treatment under the Sehat Sahulat Programme.

Mr Ilyas argued that in the relevant rules, a very cumbersome and time-consuming procedure had been given for registrations of a birth, death, marriage or divorce if the limitation period of 90 days had passed as the applicant had to move a civil court to get a decree of declaration.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2023