By Hafiz Ehsaan Ahmed Khokhar
The judiciary in Pakistan is one of the pillars of the state responsible for upholding the rule of law, ensuring justice, and protecting citizens’ rights. However, Pakistan’s Supreme Court faces significant challenges, primarily due to an overwhelming backlog of cases for the last many years. These delays in case resolutions often erode public confidence and hinder citizens’ access to timely justice which according to the constitution is a fundamental citizen right. Therefore, to address this, Pakistan urgently needs and has no option except to increase the substantial number of judges in its Supreme Court, High Courts and Districts Courts. Alongside this, the legal and structural reforms are essential for enhancing judicial efficiency, trust, reducing backlogs, and ensuring justice is served in a timely manner. There is no doubt to ensure a sustainable future, Pakistan’s judicial system requires both immediate and long-term measures.
According to recent data, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has a backlog of more than 60 thousand of cases, a figure that continues to rise and people are waiting months and years for even their first hearing of case which with the passage of time this has become the biggest challenge for the Supreme Court. This case backlog is attributed to a combination of many factors in Supreme Court, including limited judges and less judicial manpower and the complexed procedural delays. Cases can often take years in Supreme Court, if not decades, to reach a conclusion, which resultantly denying justice to citizens and impacting their lives, businesses, and livelihoods which ultimately has now become a big concern for the whole justice sector. The main contributor to increase in delay and backlog as because the more time is spending by Supreme Court on Constitutional- cum political matters filed in the last few years by political parties on the name of public interest or enforcement or violation of fundamental rights which should have been decided on parliamentary forums.
The concept of “justice delayed is justice denied” is particularly relevant in this context for the long -term pendency in Supreme Court of Pakistan which has been increased every year. Prolonged delays of cases in Supreme Court not only affect those directly involved in legal disputes but also harm society’s overall sense of justice and rule of law. Therefore, Increasing the number of judges in Supreme Court is a logical step towards managing this overwhelming case load more effectively and that can provide immediate relief by distributing the workload more equitably. This would allow judges to focus on specific cases or legal areas, improving both the quality and speed of judgments.
Last time when the strength of Supreme Court judges was increased through Act of Parliament was the year of 1997 and at that time there was Pakistan only had 131 million population and was half of case pendency with present figure, but now the population has increased to more than 250 million and 27 years have passed. Thus, the Parliament has rightly now made the double number of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 34 through new legislation by considering the current population, pendency figures of cases, public anxiety and for more importantly the availability of judges required for the constitutional benches going to be established soon after passing of 26th constitutional amendment. More judges in Supreme Court through the Act of Parliament 2024 will provide a way to easily handle cases and will definitely decrease the time each case spends awaiting a hearing, resulting in faster decisions and reduced backlog, So the present legislation for increasing the strength of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 34 should be considered in this perspective and should not use for anti-political slogan. There is no doubt that when we look at the preparation of judicial history reforms, there has always been many recommendations for improving the judicial system in Pakistan, and one of the primary recommendations has been to increase the strength of judges not only at Supreme Court but to the High Courts and District Courts and to invest substantially in justice sector with replacement of outdated legislation. Now, the federal and provincial governments should also immediately take steps for increasing the strength of judges in provincial High Courts and District courts alongside new legislation and eradication of outdated and complexed procedural laws in the larger and best interest of the country.
Increasing the number of judges in Pakistan’s Supreme Court through the Act of Parliament 2024 is an essential and good step in addressing the chronic case backlog and enhancing judicial efficiency which resultantly increase the public trust when their cases will be fixed and decided at the earliest. However, this increase of judges in Supreme Court must be accompanied by a comprehensive reform strategy that embraces digital transformation, legislative support, and capacity building. Pakistan’s judiciary has the potential to be a pillar of stability, fairness, and justice, but this can only be achieved through concerted efforts to modernize the system. In doing so, Pakistan can ensure that its citizens experience timely and effective justice, restoring faith in the judiciary and strengthening the rule of law.
