ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) division bench on Tuesday suspended the single bench’s verdict that had ordered the dissolution of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the transfer of its powers and assets to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI).

The division bench, comprising Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir and Justice Rana Inaam Ameen Minhas, heard the intra-court appeal filed by the CDA against the judgment of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, who had earlier declared the civic agency defunct.

During the hearing, Advocate Kashif Ali Malik appeared on behalf of the CDA. The court inquired about the original petition that led to the sweeping order, asking, “What was the plea in the case where the order to dissolve the CDA was issued?”

Counsel for the parties clarified that the petition had merely sought the abolition of the “Right of Way (ROW)” charges imposed by the CDA on fuel stations, housing societies, and other commercial establishments along major roads, and not the dissolution of the entire authority.

The bench then questioned whether the petitioners would defend the single bench’s decision to dissolve the CDA. The lawyers responded that they had neither requested nor would they defend such dissolution.

After hearing the arguments, the division bench suspended the single bench’s order pertaining to the dissolution of the CDA as well as the directions regarding local government elections, restoring the civic body’s operations until a final decision on the appeal.

Justice Kayani, in his earlier ruling, had not only struck down SRO No. 576(I)/2015 which authorized the CDA to levy ROW charges but also termed the 65-year-old civic agency an “obsolete institution” that had lost its operational relevance following the enforcement of the Islamabad Local Government Act 2015.

The division bench has now put that decision on hold, allowing the CDA to continue its work until further orders.