The first full court meeting led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi on Monday assessed the performance of the Supreme Court and its disposal of cases, resolving to reduce the backlog in accordance with a plan prepared by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
A statement issued by the Supreme Court said all judges of the apex court attended the meeting, including Justice Shah, who participated via video-link as he is currently performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia with his family. It said the meeting deliberated on enhancing judicial efficiency, adding the registrar had informed the participants that 59,191 cases were pending hearing.
To resolve the backlog, read the statement, the full court decided to implement the one-month Case Management Plan 2023 prepared by Justice Shah. “The plan includes setting clear standards, employing information technology to effectively manage all categories of cases,” it added.
According to the statement, the judges discussed various strategies to achieve the plan’s targets, deciding to allocate criminal and civil cases to specialized two- and three-member benches to ensure swift case resolution. It said the judges had underscored their commitment to addressing case backlog.
The statement said Justice Shah had offered additional suggestions to resolve the backlog, proposing three-month and six-month plans to follow the initial one-month plan. The chief justice, it said, had thanked all judges for their commitment to ensuring speedy justice and achieving targets. “Progress will be reviewed in the next session of the full court meeting scheduled for Dec. 2, 2024,” it added.
The newly-appointed CJP took oath of office on Oct. 26, succeeding former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa. He was picked by a special parliamentary committee formed under the newly-enacted 26th constitutional amendment, superseding Justices Shah and Muneeb Akhtar. As his first order of business, the new CJP had reconstituted the Practice and Procedure Committee to include Justices Shah and Akhtar. He has also directed court staff to expand live-streaming services to all cases within the Supreme Court, provided litigants agree.