59,191 cases are currently pending with apex court.  CJP Yahya  Afridi-led meeting welcomes newly devised one-month plan based on Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s Case Management Plan 2023.

ISLAMABAD  -  The full court of the Supreme Court yesterday development consensus to clear the cases backlog, focusing on measures to enhance judicial efficiency.

The meeting, held under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi, was attended by all the judges including Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah who participated through video link from abroad.

The meeting was convened to assess the performance of Supreme Court in the institution and disposal of cases. On the occasion, Registrar Jazeela Aslam provided an overview of the current caseload and outlined the steps toward timely decision of cases. She presented updated statistics, indicating that 59,191 cases are currently pending and introduced a newly devised one-month plan based on Case Management Plan 2023 prepared by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. The plan includes setting clear standards, employing information technology to effectively manage all categories of cases.

Reviewing the Case Management Plan, the judges discussed a range of strategies to achieve the plan’s targets. Criminal and civil cases, as detailed in the monthly plan, were allocated to specialized two-and three-member benches to ensure swift and speedy case resolution.

The Judges contributed valuable insights and recommendations for further system improvement, underscoring their commitment to addressing case backlog. Justice Mansoor offered additional suggestions aimed at reducing the cases backlog and improving procedural efficiency initially for one month and followed by three-month and six-month plans.

The Chief Justice emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating that it would significantly improve judicial efficiency. He thanked all the Judges for their resolve to implement the Case Management Plan in full, with a commitment to achieve the outlined targets. Progress will be reviewed in the next session of the Full Court meeting scheduled for 2 December 2024.

The full court session was called to address various judicial matters, including the concerns and reservations expressed by some judges.

CJP Afridi after assuming the office called the Full Court meeting. He had also reconstituted the Practice and Procedure Committee, with Justice Munib Akhtar reinstated as a member.

Previously, Justice Mansoor and other senior judges had been asking former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa to convene a full court meeting, especially in the light of the recently promulgated Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance. Unfortunately, the session, however, could not be called.

Chief Justice Afridi formally started hearing cases from Monday.

Justice Yahya Afridi took the oath of office as the 30th chief justice of Pakistan in a swearing-in ceremony at the President’s House on October 26. President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to the new chief justice.