Islamabad High Court reserves verdict on appeal against CDA dissolution order

A division bench of the Islamabad High Court Thursday reserved its judgment on an intra-court appeal filed against the single bench’s order to dissolve the Capital Development Authority (CDA), reported 24NewsHD TV.

The bench, comprising Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Justice Azam Khan, heard arguments on the admissibility of the appeal and reserved its decision.

The appeal challenges a previous order by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, who had directed the federal government to initiate the process of dissolving the CDA, declaring the authority’s power to impose a “right-of-way” fee and other direct taxes as unlawful.

During the hearing, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro questioned the CDA counsel about the nature of the “right-of-way” tax. The lawyer explained that the CDA levies this charge when it allows access through its land to private housing societies.

The counsel argued that the court's single bench exceeded its jurisdiction by ordering the dissolution of the authority, whereas the original petition had only challenged the right-of-way tax and the CDA's authority to impose direct taxes.

“The court has no jurisdiction to provide relief beyond the scope of the petition, especially after the 26th Constitutional Amendment,” argued the CDA’s lawyer, Shehryar Tariq.

He emphasised that there was no plea in the petition seeking the dissolution of the CDA or a refund of previously collected charges.

He further contended that the single bench should have confined itself to addressing the legality of the right-of-way tax, instead of passing an extensive order impacting the very existence of the institution.

The counsel also requested the division bench to suspend the implementation of the single bench’s ruling until a final verdict on the appeal is announced.

Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro remarked that the court will soon issue its order on the admissibility and merits of the appeal.

Reporter: Ehtesham Kiyani