Recruitment of new judges on the cards
For the elimination of the backlog of cases in the courts across Punjab and for the dispensation of quick and cheap justice to the citizens, it has been decided to appoint new judges in the higher as well as the district judiciary.
Sources said 700 new civil judges and 170 additional sessions judges will be appointed in the subordinate judiciary while 19 new judges will be appointed in the Lahore High Court (LHC).
The recruitment and placement of the new judges will be conducted in the first quarter of the upcoming year, they said and added that the judiciary has decided to provide quick and cheap justice and end the pendency of the cases.
At present, a total of 1,417,000 cases are pending in the subordinate sessions, civil and special courts, while a total of 180,000 cases, appeals and petitions are pending in LHC’s principal seat and its three benches in Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur.
All civil judges are forced to hear 150 cases while the session judges take up 40 to 60 cases per day. The number of cases pending in the civil courts of major districts of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Multan is between 50,000 and 75,000, while in small districts this number is 25,000 to 35,000.
On the other hand, every day strikes by lawyers are also a headache for the judiciary.
The sources claimed that the judiciary has decided to reduce the number of cases in the upcoming year.
According to this decision, the LHC’s division bench in Rawalpindi has started hearing appeals at 9 am every day as compared to the earlier practice of conducting the hearing at 11 am.
The LHC chief justice has also issued instructions to the judges of the sessions, civil and special courts to deal with the cases expeditiously and to give judgments in old cases without giving dates. “All old criminal and civil cases should not be given delayed dates,” the order said.
The tests for the recruitment of new civil and additional session judges were extremely tough and lengthy due to which only five per cent of the candidates could qualify.
LHC CJ Justice Muhammad Amir Bhatti has said that all the complaints regarding this matter have been resolved. He has also directed the senior lawyers of all districts to train young lawyers for the civil judge exam.
Further, rewards will also be given to motivate the judges concerned for delivering judgments in the maximum number of cases in the New Year. The CJ will get a report on the pending cases from each district every month.
Meanwhile, the most senior and well-reputed district and session judges will be promoted to judges of the Lahore High Court on the 19 vacant seats of judges. Eight of the 19 seats will be filled by the district and session judges while the remaining seats will be filled with senior lawyers.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2022.