SC accelerates death penalty case disposals

While the performance of constitutional benches at the Supreme Court remains underwhelming, the top court under Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi has achieved unprecedented acceleration in disposing of criminal cases, particularly those involving death sentences.

According to the SC statement, 238 death sentence appeals have been decided during CJP Afridi's tenure.

When he assumed office, 59,435 cases were pending in the apex court, which then comprised 16 permanent and two ad hoc judges. As of May 20, the number of working judges has risen to 25, and the case pendency has been reduced to 56,715.

Since October 28, 2024, the court has disposed of 238 death sentence appeals, over 52% of the 454 total cases. At the start of Afridi's tenure, 410 death sentence appeals were pending.

With 44 new appeals instituted since then, the number rose to 454, but rapid fixation and disposal have brought it down to 216. By comparison, only 26 such appeals were resolved during the corresponding period a year earlier.

The SC statement credits this turnaround to the CJP's strategic focus on long-pending cases and the extension of working hours to hear them.

Report on CBs demanded

However, lawyers argue that it is essential to release a performance report on the constitutional benches (CBs), functioning after the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

The judges serving on these CBs have yet to evolve any rules or procedures for their operation. Notably, even a CB judge, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, has raised concerns about the absence of regulations. At the same time, the superior judiciary under CJP Afridi is confronting what many call its most significant challenge: executive influence over the nomination of CB judges and judicial appointments.

Although CJP Afridi has prioritised the reduction of case pendency, he has so far been unable to devise a strategy to counter the executive's role in appointments. According to some legal observers, around 90% of judicial appointments are currently backed by executive authorities. Commenting on the performance of SC judges, Advocate Abdul Moiz Jaferii noted: "These are great numbers. But the only number that counts is the majority of the executive in the judicial commission."

"It is with this number that the meaning of justice has been reduced in our country. There is no independent judicial organ. The challenge to this usurpation of a pillar of the state remains pending. Until the question of the sanctity of the constitution is settled, these numbers are meaningless."

As for the performance of the constitutional bench, he added, "As far as the constitutional bench is concerned, the less said the better".