KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday extended till Nov 22 its earlier interim restraining order for K-Electric from collecting the Municipal Utility Charges and Taxes (MUCT) for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation through electricity bills.

A division bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi stated in its order, “By consent, adjourned to 22.11.2022. Interim order passed earlier to continue till the next date of hearing.”

On the last hearing, the bench had appointed senior lawyers Khalid Jawed Khan and Munir A. Malik as amici curiae to assist the court on the subject issue.

The SHC was petitioned against provincial government’s move to outsource the collection of the MUCT to the KE and on Sept 26 the bench through an interim order had restrained the power utility from collecting the controversial tax through electricity bills.

Advocate Syed Najeebuddin Ahmed had moved the SHC in April while Jamaat-i-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman and other party leaders petitioned the SHC last month impugning the collection of MUCT through the power bills.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2022