Orders police to register citizens’ complaints against illegal collection of parking fees
HYDERABAD:
While the ban imposed by the Sindh government in July 2025 on collection of vehicle parking fees fell on deaf ears, a court in Hyderabad has ordered the authorities to implement the ban.
The First Additional District and Sessions Judge directed the police to register people’s complaints against extortion of illegal parking fees, while also directing the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) to enforce the ban.
On July 8, 2025, the Sindh government announced that no contractor would be allowed to charge parking fees on the roads of the province and all existing contracts in this regard had been canceled. A month later, on August 4, the HMC also notified that all paid parking contracts in the city had been revoked, except for “designated plots, spaces and areas specifically maintained by councils for parking”.
However, it seems that these notices have remained confined to the files, with citizens constantly complaining about being extorted for parking fees in different areas of the city. One of the citizens, advocate Faisal Mughal, approached the court last month seeking an order to register an FIR against an individual who forced him to pay parking fees in Saddar area, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Hyderabad Cantonment Board (HBC).
According to the lawyer, he even filed a complaint at the Cant police station, but the police refused to file a complaint, prompting him to knock on the door of the court concerned to order an FIR. During the hearing, CBH lawyer Ishrat Ali Lohar objected to the court’s jurisdiction in the present case while also pointing out that Mughal had not contacted the competent forum, the CBH Cantonment Board Care (CBC), before appearing in court.
It was also pointed out to the court that the CBH does not come under the jurisdiction of the Hyderabad district administration or local bodies. Advocate Zulfiqar Durrani, who appeared on behalf of the HMC, claimed that all parking contracts in the city had been canceled by circular number G/230/2025 dated August 4, 2025.
“…if anyone issues receipts in the name of HMC, they are fake and legal action should be taken against them,” the lawyer said. At the same time, the court observed that the CBH is run under the Cantonment Act, 1924, which is a federal law. “Thus, the federal government is empowered to issue necessary instructions to the cantonment boards regarding the functions and collection of taxes,” the judge pointed out.
The judge, however, reminded the police that if the public contacted them with complaints about the illegal collection of parking fees in areas under the HMC or CBH, the police had a duty to investigate the matter and take action if any illegality amounting to extortion was discovered. The court noted that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was prompted to notify a ban on paid parking in view of numerous complaints from the public in the province.
“The fruits given by the Sindh government and the CM should reach the public,” the judge said, directing the HMC municipal commissioner to monitor such illegal activities and display the government ban against parking charges in all affected areas to create awareness among the public. The court also ordered legal action against people claiming to be contractors of HMC or its municipal corporations.
