Top judge makes Sindh's judicial officers work for their vacations
SHC chief justice introduces point-based criteria for officers to earn summer vacation days
Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh has introduced this system to speed up the pace of judicial proceedings in Sindh. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI:
Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh has introduced point-based criteria for judicial officers to earn their annual summer vacations in the province’s subordinate judiciary, where more than 108,000 cases are pending disposal.
Judicial sources told The Express Tribune that the chief justice has introduced new guidelines in the provincial judiciary to ensure quick disposal of cases, timely dispensation of justice and efficient working in the institution.
The sources said CJ Sheikh has also divided the 27 judicial districts in two groups that will be observing summer vacations separately. The subordinate courts in Karachi, Thatta, Hyderabad, Badin, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tharparkar, Jamshoro, Umerkot, Matiari, Tando Allahyar and Tando Muhammad Khan will have their summer vacations from June 1 till June 30.
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The subordinate courts in Khairpur, Dadu, Larkana, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Ghotki, Naushero Feroz, Kamber-Shahdadkot and Kashmore will avail their summer vacations from July 1 till July 31.
The sources revealed that a total of 108,648 criminal, civil, family and other cases had been pending in the 27 districts of the province since the start of May.
More than half of them - 58,669 - are pending disposal in the lower court in Karachi’s five districts: South, East, West, Central and Malir. The sources said the high court had started evaluating performance of judicial officers on the basis of ‘units’, which will be allocated on the disposal of each case. “The number of units to be earned in a month will be 65 for the district and sessions judges and 75 for all other judicial officers respectively,” stated an official notification.
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Each judge can earn six and nine units for deciding criminal, family and civil cases pending for the last five years. They can even earn 12 units if they decide a 10-year-old case.
The judicial officers can also earn three units for carrying out inspections assigned to them and another three for completing inquiries assigned to them.
The notification stated that no unit can be earned while the judicial officer is on any type of leave.
The district and sessions judges, who are judicial and administrative heads of the lower judiciary in each district, are entitled to 15-day vacation time during the summer season, according an official notification recently circulated among the district judges, a copy of which available with The Express Tribune.
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It stated that the additional district and sessions judges who have earned their required units are entitled to the 15-day vacation. However, according to the notification, in ‘special cases additional and district judges who have not earned the required number of units will be allowed to avail 10-day summer vacations.
The notification further explained that the additional district and sessions judges, civil judges and civil judges/judicial magistrates with less than one year of service are not entitled to any vacation.
Similarly, the senior civil judges and civil judges/judicial magistrates who have earned the required units are entitled to vacation for two-weeks. The notification also states that those senior civil judges and civil judges/judicial magistrates who have not earned their units will be entitled to 10-day vacations in ‘special cases’.
Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh has introduced point-based criteria for judicial officers to earn their annual summer vacations in the province’s subordinate judiciary, where more than 108,000 cases are pending disposal.
Judicial sources told The Express Tribune that the chief justice has introduced new guidelines in the provincial judiciary to ensure quick disposal of cases, timely dispensation of justice and efficient working in the institution.
The sources said CJ Sheikh has also divided the 27 judicial districts in two groups that will be observing summer vacations separately. The subordinate courts in Karachi, Thatta, Hyderabad, Badin, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tharparkar, Jamshoro, Umerkot, Matiari, Tando Allahyar and Tando Muhammad Khan will have their summer vacations from June 1 till June 30.
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The subordinate courts in Khairpur, Dadu, Larkana, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Ghotki, Naushero Feroz, Kamber-Shahdadkot and Kashmore will avail their summer vacations from July 1 till July 31.
The sources revealed that a total of 108,648 criminal, civil, family and other cases had been pending in the 27 districts of the province since the start of May.
More than half of them - 58,669 - are pending disposal in the lower court in Karachi’s five districts: South, East, West, Central and Malir. The sources said the high court had started evaluating performance of judicial officers on the basis of ‘units’, which will be allocated on the disposal of each case. “The number of units to be earned in a month will be 65 for the district and sessions judges and 75 for all other judicial officers respectively,” stated an official notification.
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Each judge can earn six and nine units for deciding criminal, family and civil cases pending for the last five years. They can even earn 12 units if they decide a 10-year-old case.
The judicial officers can also earn three units for carrying out inspections assigned to them and another three for completing inquiries assigned to them.
The notification stated that no unit can be earned while the judicial officer is on any type of leave.
The district and sessions judges, who are judicial and administrative heads of the lower judiciary in each district, are entitled to 15-day vacation time during the summer season, according an official notification recently circulated among the district judges, a copy of which available with The Express Tribune.
Summer vacations to begin from Ramazan 1
It stated that the additional district and sessions judges who have earned their required units are entitled to the 15-day vacation. However, according to the notification, in ‘special cases additional and district judges who have not earned the required number of units will be allowed to avail 10-day summer vacations.
The notification further explained that the additional district and sessions judges, civil judges and civil judges/judicial magistrates with less than one year of service are not entitled to any vacation.
Similarly, the senior civil judges and civil judges/judicial magistrates who have earned the required units are entitled to vacation for two-weeks. The notification also states that those senior civil judges and civil judges/judicial magistrates who have not earned their units will be entitled to 10-day vacations in ‘special cases’.