CJ Bandial-led SC adjudicates 976 record cases

The Supreme Court has decided 976 record cases during the first two weeks of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

Until February 1, a total of 53,624 cases were pending in the apex court. However, the number reduced to 53,286 after 976 cases were decided and 638 instituted from February 1 to February 15. Out of the 976 cases, 533 cases were decided in Islamabad whereas 443 in Karachi.

An insider in the top court revealed to The Express Tribune that discipline was witnessed in the fixation of cases and formation of benches during the tenure of the incumbent chief justice.

He said this could be assessed from the fact that the final cause list for next week was issued on Thursday.

During the tenure of former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed, discipline issues were witnessed in the fixation of cases while composition of benches was also frequently changed, which hampered the apex court's working. The cause list was normally issued on Saturdays.

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Consequently, the lawyers lodged complaints regarding the delay in issuance of the cause list as well as non-fixation of urgent matters.

It is also said that CJ Bandial is fixing cases of nature which were not listed during the tenure of his predecessor.

A three-judge bench led by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood is mainly hearing criminal cases. Earlier, litigants had expressed concerns regarding the non-fixation of jail petitions.

It is also learnt that CJ Bandial had surrendered Mercedes that was given to him for official use.

Senior lawyers believe that the biggest challenge for CJ Bandial is to end the perception of division within the top court judges. It has been noticed that significant matters and high-profile cases are not being listed in bench No 2, which is led by Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

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The pattern got all the more pronounced when cases such as the Election Commission of Pakistan’s plea against Peshawar High Court’s order in LG case and Monal hotel administration’s petition against Islamabad High Court’s order were found listed in bench No 5. Even most of public interest matters are being listed in the same bench.

Despite the fact that Justice Isa is a senior puisne judge, he is not heading the three-member bench. According to next week’s roster, Justice Isa will head the division bench. Justice Yahya Afridi has been part of this bench for the last many months.

Currently, one seat of SC judge is vacant. However, the process regarding appointment of new judge is yet to start by CJ Bandial. The chief justice has yet to summon meeting of committee to evolve criteria for the appointment of Supreme Court judges by amending Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) rules 2010.

CJ Bandial, in his first speech on February 1, had said that the court must continue to exercise its jurisdiction and perform its duties under the constitution and the law with greater vigour.