The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Division Bench has suspended the earlier order of a single bench directing the dissolution of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). The decision came during the hearing of an intra-court appeal filed by the CDA against the previous ruling.
The Division Bench, comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Inam Amin Minhas, reviewed the appeal challenging the order issued by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani. The earlier single bench ruling had instructed the federal government to dissolve the CDA and transfer all its powers to the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC).
During proceedings, Advocate Kashif Ali Malik represented the CDA and clarified that the original petitions, which led to the dissolution order, sought the removal of Right of Way (ROW) charges on fuel stations along Islamabad’s main highways, not the dissolution of the CDA itself. Lawyers representing the petitioners confirmed that the dissolution of CDA was neither requested nor would they defend such an order.
In light of these clarifications, the Division Bench suspended the single bench’s ruling related to both the local government elections and the CDA’s dissolution.
The initial judgment by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani in late June stemmed from two writ petitions challenging a 2015 Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), under which CDA had imposed ROW charges on petrol and CNG stations along major highways in the capital.
