HYDERABAD, Aug 30: A division bench of the Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit bench issued bailable warrants on Wednesday against the Divisional Superintendent Railways (DSR) of Karachi for his failure to turn up in the court in response to an earlier court order. He had been asked to appear with relevant record regarding levy of toll tax over the Kotri Bridge.

The court, however, extended operation of an interim order, passed earlier, suspending recovery of the toll tax till Sept 7.

The bench comprising Mr Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Mr Justice Mohammad Athar Saeed noted that the DSR had not attended the court and no explanation had been filed for his absence.

The court is seized of a constitutional petition filed by Raja Jawad Ali Sahar, represented by Ayaz Latif Palijo, advocate, who has challenged recovery of toll tax on Kotri bridge which links Hyderabad and Jamshoro districts.

DSRs Karachi and Sukkur, SHO of the Kotri police station, DPO and the DCO of Jamshoro, Taluka Municipal Officer (TMO) of Kotri and the chief engineer irrigation of the Kotri Barrage are respondents.

The petitioner said some contractors and persons calling themselves as government officials were illegally collecting toll tax in name of “rail ki bahali mulk ki khushallee toll tax” which is misapplication of powers as the bridge was constructed in 1932 and since then no tax was ever levied and no maintenance or renovation was done by any department.

The bridge has neither been reconstructed nor any amount was spent over the bridge for which tax was being levied over people, he added.

He described levy of tax as miscarriage of law, for Hyderabad and Kotri are twin cities and people visit these cities more than once in a day and each time they have to pay tax.