SC to dispose of all pending death penalty appeals within 45 days

Pending death penalty appeals drop from 384 to 107; 449 resolved and 172 new filed since Oct 26, 2024

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday decided to resolve all pending death penalty appeals within the next 45 days.

A press release from the SC said the decision was made during the monthly Reforms Action Plan meeting, presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi. The session was attended by the president and secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, along with other relevant officials.

The session's participants reviewed jail appeals in death penalty and criminal cases. According to the press release, when CJP Afridi assumed office, 384 death penalty appeals were pending as of October 26, 2024. That number has now decreased to 107 pending appeals. Since that date, 172 new appeals have been filed, and 449 appeals have been resolved.

The members also reviewed life imprisonment appeals, which stood at 4,160 when CJP Afridi took office and have now decreased to 3,608. The press release said a timeline for resolving life imprisonment appeals would be established after the completion of death penalty appeals.

It was decided that jail petitions for convicts aged 80 or above would be prioritised. Officials noted that a large portion of judicial records was digitised, and CJP Afridi thanked the bar for providing soft copies of petitions and support for e-filing.

Officials also briefed the participants on the progress of case categorisation, which is expected to be completed within two months. A barcoding system for tracking case files will be fully implemented within the next 15 days.