SC issues pro forma for early hearing of case

The Supreme Court has issued a pro forma for filing an application for the early hearing of a case. According to an SC circular, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has noted that in the applications being filed for early hearing or out-of-turn fixation of cases, neither brief details regarding the nature of proceedings before the lower courts or the relief claimed in the main case, nor the reasons of urgency were mentioned.

"All the AORs [advocates on record] /litigations persons are, therefore, required to submit their applications on the prescribed pro forma, which should be filled in and typed properly,” it added.
The pro forma can be downloaded from the Supreme Court’s website. It has spaces where the number and title of the case would be written. Then there is a space to specify the category of the case.

Then under the headline of “Brief of case (from trial court to the impugned order), there are spaces where a litigant can mention the nature of proceedings before the lower court as well as relief claimed in the main case.

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Then there are three lines where a litigant can mention the reason for the urgency. Below that, there is a check box where a litigant can mention whether or not they have attached the proof of their urgency along with the pro forma.

After that there is the prayer for the early fixation of the case and the date on which the litigant wants that. Finally, there is the undertaking that this is the first time that the litigant or their AOR is applying for the early fixation of the case.

An application for an early hearing of a case can be filed under section 151 of the Civil Procedure Code.
The section deals with “Saving of inherent powers of Court”. It reads “Nothing in CPC shall be considered to restrict or otherwise affect the inherent power of the Court to make such orders as may be important for the ends of justice or to limit abuse of the method of the Court.”

Sub-section (f) reads: “The power under section 151 will have to be used with care, only where it is absolutely necessary, when there is no provision in the Code governing the matter or when the bona fides of the applicant cannot be doubted or when such exercise is to meet the ends of justice and to prevent abuse of process of court.”