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CJs committee satisfied with backlog reduction

MEHMUD AHMED

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justices Committee has recorded its satisfaction over the downward trend in the backlog of cases before the superior as well as the subordinate judiciary throughout the country.

At its second meeting within a month under the new Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Irshad Hassan Khan, here on Friday, the Committee reviewed the performance of 19 working days since February 25, and was told that the Supreme Court alone had its burden by 266 cases. The pending cases now are reported at 12, 720.

The Chief Justice said that of the 19 working days most of the time the whole court had been seized with the constitutional petitions on the validity of the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).

Likewise, the reports from the High Courts showed improvement revealing that the Lahore High Court had settled 5, 902 cases and the pending still stood at 70, 000; the Sindh High Court disposed of 1, 041 cases, with 27, 320 still awaiting hearings, the Peshawar High Court had reduced its load by 1, 103 cases, with 15, 550 still pending; and the Balochistan High Court had judged 161 petitions, with 653 cases remaining in the backlog.

The Committee comprises Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan, Chief Justice Fazal Ellahi Khan of the Federal Shariat Court, Chief Justice Mohammad Ajmal of the Peshawar High Court, Chief Justice Allah Nawaz of the Lahore High Court, Chief Justice Syed Deedar Hussain Shah of the Sindh High Court and Chief Justice Javed Iqbal of the Balochistan High Court.

The statistics received from the subordinate courts from the four provinces also reported a decline in the pending lists, especially in the category of cases relating to family matters, rent disputes, cases of widows and orphans and suits relating to estates of the deceased persons.

In Punjab, a total of 16, 566 cases were disposed of, in Sindh their number was 1, 690; NWFP reported settlement of 1, 125 cases; while in Balochistan 400 such cases were settled.

Reviewing measures for quick disposal of cases, the Chief Justice recommended to his colleagues to nominate judges to monitor progress of each category of cases like writ petitions, civil revisions, and second appeals, to ensure their speedy disposal.

He also directed that cases pending since before 1990 should be declared as "old ones" and disposed of by holding daily hearings. He expressed satisfaction with the results of the backlog clearance campaign and urged the heads of the provincial High Courts to maintain that speed in the courts under their jurisdiction.