LHC upholds six-year limit on prize bond claims

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has upheld the six-year time limit for claiming prize money on prize bonds, dismissing an intra-court appeal challenging the validity of Rule 15 of the Prize Bond Rules, 1999.

A division bench headed by Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad ruled that the limitation period is consistent with the Public Debt Act, 1944, affirming that the government cannot be expected to honour prize claims indefinitely.

The bench also maintained that prize bonds are a form of government security issued under the authority of the Public Debt Act, which allows the government to prescribe conditions for such securities through rules.

The case involved an appellant holding prize bond No. D433992, worth Rs1,500, issued on November 25, 1999. The bond won a prize of Rs1 million in a draw held on August 15, 2003, but the claimant failed to collect the amount for nearly a decade.

The appellant's counsel argued that the Prize Bond Rules of 1999 were ultra vires the Public Debt Act, contending that sections 23 and 24 of the Act imposed no limitation on claiming prize money and that the government must pay on presentation without conditions.