LAHORE, March 11: The Lahore High Court has struck down as illegal, a notification of the State Bank of Pakistan under which all commercial banks were directed to ensure that classified personal details of all depositors whose annual profit on their deposits exceeds Rs10,000, be furnished on a biannual basis for the benefit of the Central Board of Revenue (CBR).

Accepting a writ petition by advocate M.D.Tahir, the court, in in its judgment, released here on Thursday said, that the people of Pakistan had every right not to have their private financial matters placed before the "preying eye" of tax collecting agencies, even in good faith, without an allegation of wrongdoing.

The State Bank, the judgement said, enjoyed no powers to issue such an enactment which was a bad law and which contravened fundamental rights of the people as enshrined in Articles 4, 9, 14 and 25 of the constitution.

Petitioner-advocate M.D. Tahir filed a petition against the State Bank of Pakistan's circular No 22 of June 30, 2003, which had directed all commercial banks to submit to the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) on an biannual basis, information including names, addresses, National ID card numbers, and account numbers of depositors whose annual profit exceeded Rs10,000.

Justice Mohammad Ghani of the Lahore High Court, since retired, heard the petition. During the hearings Khawaja Amir Farooq, legal advisor of the state, also appeared to defend the circular saying it had been taken "in the best national interest".

The judgement held that the impugned circular was also ultra vires of the State Bank Act of 1956 and the Banking Companies Ordinance of 1962 which vested no such powers in the State Bank to enact such a circular.

The judgement had a word of praise for the lawyer-petitioner who, it said, had done a commendable service to the people of Pakistan. "... but for the vigilance of the petitioner ... the people at large could have been made to suffer since the State Bank of Pakistan, as held above, has handed over the fate of millions of innocent citizens of the country, including senior citizens and widows, into the hands of the CBR - a proverbial whipping boy", the judgement added.