The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday summoned the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) Administrator to appear in person before the court during the next hearing of a petition challenging the collection of entry fees in Islamabad’s New Blue Area.
Court Proceedings
A single bench of the IHC, comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, conducted the hearing on the petition filed by Advocate Muhammad Tayyab through his counsels, including Zohaib Gondal, Hazrat Younis, and Muhammad Saeed Dar. During the proceedings, the court sought clarification on the legal basis for the fee and asked under which law the authorities were charging visitors for entering the area. The court also issued notices to the Secretary Interior, the Chief Commissioner, and the MCI, directing them to submit their responses to the petition.
Petition Details
The imposition of an entry fee for the New Blue Area in the federal capital was challenged before the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday, with a petition seeking to declare the fee illegal and null and void. Advocate Muhammad Tayyib filed the petition and named the Secretary Interior, Chief Commissioner, and Administrator MCI as respondents. The counsel for the petitioner argued that the New Blue Area is a major commercial hub housing corporate headquarters, business centers, restaurants, and other commercial establishments. Despite its status as a public commercial district, the MCI has reportedly imposed a fee of Rs100 on vehicles using the service road to access the area.
According to the petition, this charge is not a parking fee but an entry fee that applies to anyone using the service road, regardless of whether they park their vehicle. The petitioner contended that the civic body provides no additional service or facility in exchange for the amount being collected. The petition further stated that charging citizens for access to a public commercial area violates established legal principles and runs contrary to previous judgments delivered by higher courts on similar matters. The petitioner has requested the Islamabad High Court to declare the fee unlawful and direct the relevant authorities to immediately stop collecting charges from visitors entering the New Blue Area.
The petition also emphasized that charging an entry fee for the New Blue Area is a violation of superior court decisions. Therefore, it requested the court to declare the MCI’s fee charge illegal and null and void.
