Inordinate delays in dispensation of justice remain a serious issue of concern in this country. During the recent years, the problem of pendency has drawn considerable attention though with little effect. During his brief stint (January 18, 2019- December 20, 2019) a former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa, in consultation with his brother judges, made a worthy effort to fast-track disposal of cases. To that end, the previous government also undertook to change the archaic colonial era laws with as many as 700 amendments related to the criminal justice system, policing, and collection of evidence. Yet the outcome is far from satisfactory. As per a Supreme Court press release, 24,303 cases were decided between Feb. 2, 2022 and Feb 25, 2023 – the highest number since 2018 when the total disposal was 16,961 cases — while 22,018 new cases were instituted. The pendency/backlog now stands at a staggering 52,450 despite “the extraordinary hard work of the honourable judges of the Supreme Court, introduction of a case management system, and the constitution of benches according to the needs of the caseload.”
In his address to a recent seminar in Karachi on “Justice Delayed, Justice Denied: Challenge for Pakistan’s Justice System and Possible Solutions”, former CJP Gulzar Ahmed identified major causes of the huge pendency and suggested solutions. A well-known problem being shortage of adjudicators, he urged the government to increase the strength of judges, especially at the district level judiciary and high courts which, he said, should be decided on the basis of population. The last part makes eminent sense, though in the two largest population provinces even some of existing district courts lack infrastructure facilities essential for their smooth functioning. Iterating some important issues raised by his predecessor Justice Khosa, the ex-CJP also called for penalising frivolous litigants wasting the courts’ time. And to discourage a particularly nasty tactic employed by lawyers to impede timely disposal of cases by seeking adjournments and prolonging arguments, he proposed putting a timeframe for hearings. In this regard he cited the example of the US and some other countries where one-hour time is fixed for the lawyers to complete their arguments. This should be easily doable through new court rules.
The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), established precisely to address the problem of pendency, has already proposed several amendments to the relevant laws. Unfortunately, these too remain pending with Parliament. Lack of priority by successive governments to reform the criminal justice system almost always affects members of underprivileged sections of society. More often than not, suspects languish in jails for years and years without getting an opportunity to be heard. In one shocking tragic case of ‘justice delayed justice denied’ back in 2016, two brothers were hanged to death before they were declared innocent by the apex court. It is absolutely necessary that Parliament amend the flawed present laws in the light of the LJCP’s (Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan’s) recommendations.
