HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court has suspended operation of a notification issued by Secretary of Provincial Transport Authority (PTA) on May 29, which banned operations of a van service from Hyderabad to Diplo.

A division bench comprising Justices Abdul Mobeen Lakho and Ms Sana Akram Minhas passed the order on Thursday on a petition filed by a transporter, Riaz Ahmed. The petition cited secretary of PTA, deputy inspector general of National Highway and Motorway and secretary of District Regional Transport Authority Karachi as respondents.

Mr Riaz Ahmed, a resident of Diplo, stated in his petition filed through Jawad Ahmed Qureshi advocate that he was sole-proprietor owner of Baba Haji Mohammad Ismail AC Van Service, Hyderabad, which possessed official route permit to ply passenger vehicles from Hyderabad (General Bus Stand) to Diplo.

He said the respondent PTA managed traffic affairs and issued permits for different vehicles across Sindh. Under the above-mentioned permit, the petitioner was running 12 AC vans and coasters from Hyderabad to Diplo as no alternative and effective mode of travel had been provided by the respondents, he said.

He said that travel distance from Hyderabad (Badin Bus Stand) to Diplo was around 193 kilometres. All vehicle services of the petitioner were duly registered and paying taxes to Sindh government, he said.

He informed the court that on May 29, 2025, without issuing any prior notice, the PTA cancelled and imposed restrictions on the operation of van services on a route exceeding 200 kms. Surprisingly, the route on which the petitioner’s vans and coasters were plying was mentioned at serial No.15 of the notification, he said.

He said that no notice was issued to him to enable him to record his objections on the notification issued by the PTA secretary. It was illegal, void and mala fide, he added.

He said the notification was communicated to the petitioner in the early hours of June 5, when his coasters and vans were stopped from carrying passengers. It was important to bring on record that apart from normal passengers several patients, who travelled from Diplo to Hyderabad, had no alternative as no other transport service was being provided by Sindh government, he said.

He said that the impugned actions were violative of section 24-A General Clause Act 1987 and prayed the court declare the May 29 notification as illegal, void and mala fide as it was issued without providing the petitioner any opportunity of hearing.

He requested the court to suspend operation of the notification for the transport service mentioned at No.15. The bench issued notices to respondents and Additional Advocate General Sindh to appear in court on June 20, while suspending the operation of the May 29 notification.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2025