KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday barred the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) from taking any adverse action against Bahria Town in connection with its ongoing construction work on a high-rise building namely Opal 225.

Justice Muneeb Akhtar, who headed a single bench of the SHC, issued an interim order while hearing a lawsuit filed by Bahria Town seeking an injunction against the defendant CBC.

The judge also issued a notice to the CBC executive officer asking him to submit a reply in response to the lawsuit by April 30.

The court directed the real estate concerned to carry out work in accordance with the approved plan. The counsel for the plaintiff, Mohammad Umar Lakhani, stated that a real estate Zardari Group were given approval for the construction of a high-rise by the CBC on plot no 22 on Raja Gazanfar Ali Khan Road.

Both the Bahria Town and Zardari Group had entered a joint venture agreement in order to carry out construction on the high-rise in accordance with the approval, he added.

The counsel said that since the construction work on the project was under way, the CBC issued two notices on different dates, one on Dec 17, 2013 and the other on March 21, 2013 stating that construction was being carried out in violation of the relevant laws and approved plan. It also threatened to stop the construction work.

The counsel claimed that construction was being carried out strictly in accordance with the approved plan. He added that the approval for the construction was granted by the CBC executive board but subordinate authorities that he said had no jurisdiction had issued notices. He said that a substantial amount had been spent on the construction. If the construction was halted, it would cause a huge loss to the plaintiff and his partner. The plaintiff asked the court to restrain the cantonment board from taking any action in pursuance of its notice.