ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday constituted a committee of judges on case management that will also determine the fate of complaints against judges, pending before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

The committee, which will also include representatives of premier bars, namely the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), has been tasked with coming up with guidelines on how to clear a whopping backlog of 57,000 cases pending before the top court, speedy administration of justice and fixation and hearing of cases etc, PBC Vice Chairman Haroonur Rashid and PBC Executive Committee Chairman Hassan Raza Pasha told reporters after attending an over two-and-a-half-hour-long session called by the CJP to deliberate on a mechanism for case management.

Presided by the CJP, the meeting was also attended by senior puisne judge Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, as well as representatives of the SCBA and other bar associations.

Giving his impression of the meeting, Mr Pasha said it appeared that the SC seems determined to solve the problems of common litigants. When asked about the composition of the committee, he said he had no idea.

SC petitioned for fair criteria of judges’ appointment

It is believed that the committee consists of Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar.

Mr Pasha acknowledged that petitions instituted under Article 184(3) of the Constitution also came under discussion, but he would not comment on the issue since the matter was sub-judice as the full court of all 15 judges was already seized with a set of petitions regarding the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023.

Former PBC VC Abid Saqi — one of the participants of the meeting — told reporters that he also requested the CJP to implement the findings of the 2019 Dharna case.

On Feb 6, 2019, Justice Isa, while heading a two-judge SC bench had asked the Ministry of Defence, respective chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force to penalise personnel under their command found to have violated their oath. The directions had been issued against the backdrop of the November 2017 Faizabad dharna by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which had paralysed life in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad for 20 days.

“The Constitution emphatically prohibits members of the armed forces from engaging in any kind of political activity, which includes supporting a political party, faction or individual,” Justice Isa had said in the judgement he authored.

Munir Kakar — a PBC member from Balochistan — however, said he was not satisfied with Wednesday’s meeting, saying that when the CJP had himself invited the bar, some concrete decisions should have been taken since such meetings are not called every day.

Haroonur Rashid also highlighted during the meeting that bar councils suggested early hearings of cases.

Mr Pasha said PBC had given written suggestions to the CJP but refrained from sharing the same with the media, saying a similar follow-up meeting was expected after which the guidelines would be formalised.

He however assured that the cases of ordinary litigants would be given priority, especially those of undertrial prisoners or cases relating to criminal or property matters, the long pendency of which sometimes adversely affects the litigants since their properties were forcibly grabbed by influential people.

He brushed aside the impression about differences between PBC and SCBA, saying almost 80 to 90 per cent suggestions forwarded by the council as well as the association were similar.

Fair criteria petition

Former PML-N law minister Barrister Zafarullah Khan on Wednesday approached the SC with a petition seeking proper exercise of original constitutional jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution and devising objective, fair, and transparent criteria on observations made by judges during hearings as well as the constitution of benches in the top court.

The petition also requested the apex court to devise fair criteria and procedure for the appointment of judges in the superior courts as well recruitment of staff in the superior courts through Public Service Commissions.

On observations by judges during hearings, the petition argued that serious and angry observation have been made by judges of the superior courts against litigants, prime ministers, cabinet ministers, secretaries, officers, police, parliamentarians and political leaders etc.

Such comments are damning in nature and amount to media trial with serious consequences for a litigant, political party and society at large, the petition contended.

The judges have a right to ask questions but not to running commentary or serious damning observations highlighted by the electronic media through ‘ticker’ culture, the petition regretted.

The divine or divinely inspired guidance prescribes rage-free, mild behaviour on the part of everybody, and especially a judge, the petitioner said.

On appointment of judges, the petition argued that there was no merit system for selection of judges to higher judiciary and judges of the provincial judicial service were generally ignored.

It is, therefore, high time that parliament address the situation and the Judicial Commission of Pakistan may be constituted for appointments in the superior court with equitable representation of various stakeholders, which should not be dominated by one stakeholder.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2023