KARACHI – Sindh Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday halted implementation of a notification regarding an increase in gas tariffs for the textile industry.
The SHC’s directive provided temporary relief exclusively to the plaintiffs, who are textile manufacturers. The court suspended the controversial notification for these plaintiffs, on the condition that they deposit a specific differential amount with the court’s Nazir within seven days.
The court instructed the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to bill the plaintiffs at the previous rate before the contentious notification.
The order also specified that failure to make payments for two consecutive months would lead to the suspension of the interim order for non-compliant plaintiffs.
Besides it, the order instructed the defendant-SSGC to issue separate bills or clearly specify amounts, distinguishing the differential amount to be deposited with the Nazir and the amount to be paid directly to the defendants.
It also emphasized that any payments made to the Nazir would be contingent on the outcome of the injunction application.
Industrialists were directed to pay their monthly bills regularly.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had earlier issued the notification outlining the hike.
