PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Tuesday issued notice to provincial government and sought its response to a plea against different provisions of a provincial law empowering National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to issue letters of administration and succession certificates.

A bench consisting of Justice Fazal Subhan and Justice Farah Jamshed issued the order after preliminary hearing of the petition filed by Peshawar Bar Association (PBA) through its president Amjid Ali Khan Marwat.

The petitioner requested the court to declare as unconstitutional provisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Letters of Administration and Succession Certificate Act, 2021, through which civil courts were barred from exercising jurisdiction in the subject and the law was given overriding effect on other laws in the field.

The bench also issued notice to the advocate general, seeking his response to petitioner’s plea for interim relief. The petitioner requested the court to suspend operation of the said provisions of law till final disposal of the petition.

Petitioner requests court to suspend operation of law till disposal of petition

The petitioner contended that sections 10 and 12 of the Act were unreasonable and against fundamental rights guaranteed in Constitution.

The respondents in the petition are KP government through chief secretary, provincial law secretary and Nadra through its chairman.

Amjid Ali Khan appeared along with advocates Zahidullah Zahid, Iftikhar Hussain Samandar and Izharullah.

They stated that the provincial government had enacted KP Letters of Administration and Succession Certificate Act in 2021 by virtue of which the letters of administration and succession certificates were made to be issued by Nadra.

They said that under section 4 of the Act, a succession facilitation unit was established in Nadra for the required task.

They stated that under the said law, relevant rules were framed through which a complicated mechanism and forms were introduced along with a hefty fee structure.

They said that under the prevailing law, no court fee etc was required to be paid for such like certificates if obtained through courts, hence charging a hefty amount in the garb of services charges was not only illegal but exploitative.

They stated that apart from making the process complicated and expensive, the jurisdiction of courts were also barred under section 10 and the Act was also given overriding effect under section 12.

They claimed that the said two provisions were also in conflict with several of the provisions of the same law including section 5(B) and section 8. They added that through the said provisions of law complications had been created for people.

They requested the court to declare the impugned provisions of law as illegal and against the fundamental rights provided in the Constitution of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025