CJP highlights reforms to facilitate litigants

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi on Friday highlighted administrative reforms aimed at facilitating litigants and improving case management during an interaction with Supreme Court lawyers.

The chief justice said all applications seeking early hearings had been fixed for hearing, adding that the registrar was authorised to approve requests for early hearings. He said applications seeking early hearings must be supported by solid reasons, indicating that such requests should be justified.

Afridi said the SC had decided 400 tax-related cases in one month, adding that only 23 cases from 2024 remained pending. Tax cases from 2025 and 2026 were now pending before the apex court, he added.

The CJP also stressed that cases could not be fixed for hearing in violation of the court's case-fixation policy. "Hearings are scheduled in accordance with the prescribed policy and that if a case is listed out of turn before a bench, the judge concerned will call the registrar to seek an explanation," he said.