Justice Shah made ADR committee head

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Wednesday appointed senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as chairman of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee.

A notification from the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan said Justices Ayesha Malik and Shahid Waheed would be other two members.

The move comes two days after a full court meeting of the Supreme Court adopted the Case Management Plan 2023 - a brainchild of Justice Shah - to address the growing backlog of cases in the top court.

Registrar Jazeela Aslam provided a comprehensive overview of the current caseload and outlined steps for timely case resolution.

The Supreme Court saw a considerable docket on October 29 (Tuesday), with 36 new cases filed and 124 cases resolved, showing progress in clearing its mounting backlog.

The activity follows last week's court statistics, where 582 new cases were registered, and 700 cases disposed of, indicating the court's rigorous handling of pending matters under the new chief justice of Pakistan, Yahya Afridi.

The top court currently holds 59,996 pending cases as of October 29, down slightly from last week's tally of 60,078.

Monthly statistics reveal fluctuating trends in case filings and disposals, with March seeing 822 new cases against 1,462 closures, while April recorded 1,795 cases filed and 1,516 concluded.

Similarly, May brought 1,890 cases with 942 disposed, and June had 1,423 filed against 804 resolved. July's spike saw 2,125 cases registered and 1,102 resolved, while August maintained a high with 1,927 new cases and 1,083 concluded.

In September, 1,013 cases were filed, with 1,310 disposed.

It is pertinent to note that CJP Yahya Afridi, shortly after his appointment, swiftly introduced measures to tackle the mounting backlog of cases.

On Monday, the apex court, in a full-court meeting chaired by CJP Afridi, approved the Case Management Plan 2023, an initiative crafted by senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah to address case congestion in the top court.

The meeting reviewed a month-long trial of this plan, which Justice Shah had developed to set clear standards and incorporate information technology for streamlined handling across all case types.

The focus remained on assessing the Supreme Court's efficiency in managing both new and existing cases, with the ultimate goal of enhancing judicial productivity and reducing delays.

The registrar presented updated statistics, showing that 59,191 cases were pending, and introduced the newly devised one-month plan based on the Case Management Plan 2023 prepared by Justice Shah. The plan includes setting clear standards and employing information technology to streamline case management across different categories.

Justice Shah, participating via video link, proposed further strategies aimed at reducing the case backlog and enhancing procedural efficiency, initially through the one-month plan, followed by three-month and six-month plans.

Since assuming office, CJP Afridi has constituted a new three-judge committee under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act (SCPPA) 2023, comprising Justice Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar.