The bulge of court cases

One of the major challenges faced by our judicial system

One of the challenges faced by our judicial system is the backlog of cases, swelling ever more rapidly than before. A recent report shed light on the quantum of the problem. It says the number of cases pending in the country’s top court has risen significantly of late, stirring disquiet among those awaiting adjudication of their petitions. During the last one year, the number of cases in the Supreme Court pending a decision jumped up from 38,129 to 40,254.

According to the fortnightly Summary Statement of Case Institution, Disposal & Pendency, 40,254 cases were pending decision in the apex court on November 30. The number of pending cases on November 30, 2017 was 38,129. This shows that 2,125 more cases were added to the backlog in one year. Our top judge’s detractors feel impelled to blame this on his widely perceived judicial activism. But the reasons are much more varied.

In his address to the ceremony that marked the start of the 2018-2019 judicial year, the CJP had said the major contributing factor to the backlog of cases is frivolous litigation. He said unnecessary adjournments and customary delay tactics severely hamper the process of clearing the backlog of cases. These menaces should be seen as nothing less than poison, and should be treated as such: removing it from the body of the bar and bench is vital for survival of the justice system, he had aptly remarked. When judicial performance of the top court in the last five years – from 2013 to 2018 – is reviewed, it transpires that pendency of cases has literally doubled. In 2013, a total of 20,480 cases were pending but the figure has risen to 40,254 cases, showing almost a 100% rise. In 2001, the number of pending cases was 13,070. This figure has multiplied several times since. Our justices need to work ever more hardly to clear this caseload.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2018.

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