The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday temporarily reinstated the deputy commissioner's authority to issue the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
A two-member bench, comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, announced the ruling.
The result came after the high court suspended the decision of its single bench to prevent DC Islamabad from issuing the MPO order. Instead, it issued a notice to the parties on the chief commissioner's and others' appeals against the ruling.
In response to the application for an injunction, the court temporarily restored DC Islamabad's powers.
Last month, Justice Babar Sattar's single bench declared DC Islamabad's power to issue MPOs "null and void" in the case of detaining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar under the order.
Following the development, the chief commissioner and home secretary filed an intra-court appeal against the single bench's ruling, prompting the court to issue notices to the parties.
Justice Sattar's court ruled that DC Islamabad did not have the authority to issue 3 MPOs and that the ability to issue 3 MPOs should be reserved only for the federal cabinet.
The IHC consequently dismissed Afridi and Gulzar's case, deeming Section 18 of the 3MPO Act, 1980, invalid.