Supreme Court limits routine use of remand power

The SC has held that the power to remand cases to subordinate courts for a fresh hearing is an exceptional and corrective jurisdiction that cannot be exercised as a matter of routine.

It said appellate courts are duty-bound to decide disputes themselves where the record is complete, rather than subjecting litigants to prolonged litigation.

According to a detailed judgment, a two-member bench comprising CJP Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan converted a petition filed by Muhammad Zubair into an appeal and allowed it in a family dispute involving khula, dower, gold jewellery, and maintenance of children.