On the backburner: Officials chiefly responsible for justice, says report

PAJP report says situation in Multan particularly dismal

LAHORE: The Punjab Access to Justice Programme (PAJP) has emphasised that judicial officers are by far the greatest contributors to a bevy of adjournments which paves the way for delayed justice.

In a report—the executive summary of which is available with The Express Tribune—the PAJP says that the foremost reasons behind adjournments are plaintiffs, lawyers’ strikes and judicial officials. The report says that judicial officials are largely responsible for a myriad of adjournments in connection with criminal cases. It says that the officials seem to have little control over case progress and feel compelled to adjourn a large number of cases.

The document says that the stage between the receipt of a challan and the issuing of summons in relation to criminal cases is the most time-consuming part of the judicial process. It says that the issuing of summons is also the most time-consuming part of the judicial process with regard to civil cases.

The report says that the filing of replies, formulation of issues, initiation and conclusion of plaintiff’s evidence are also time-consuming processes. The document says the high incidence of interlocutory proceedings majorly contributed to stalling case progress.  The report says the age of case pendency in the Bahawalpur, Multan and Muzaffargarh districts seemed to have little to do with the National Judicial Policy time limit.

It says that over 60 per cent of criminal cases in Multan, 31 in Bahawalpur and 35 in Muzaffargarh are pending over and above the policy’s prescribed time limit of one year. The report says the situation is particularly dismal in Multan on this account. The report says the judicial system is replete with delays and any guidelines generally fail to remedy this.

The document says the great number of early acquittals and compromises in connection with criminal cases demonstrated feeble policing and prosecution standards in addition to premature admission of cases without adequate pre-trail scrutiny.

The PAJP’s extensive report, which had been submitted to Lahore High Court (LHC), has been compiled on the basis of a random sample of 1,476 disposed civil and criminal cases from Multan, Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh.  The PAJP—financed by the European Union (EU)—strives to empower the disadvantaged and the vulnerable by enabling them to secure their legal rights and improve access to justice and legal services. The PAJP works across Lahore and three south Punjab districts. It collaborates with LHC, the district judiciary, the Punjab Judicial Academy, the Punjab Public Prosecution Department, the Punjab Bar Council, district bar associations and civil society organisations among other stakeholders.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2016.