ISLAMABAD: The Isla­mabad High Court (IHC) decided 5.4 per cent fewer cases in 2024 as compared to the previous year, according to official data,

As per the statistics rel­eased by the IHC, the eig­ht judges decided 10,571 cases in 2024. In 2023, the total cases decided by these judges were 11,170.

In 2024, IHC Chief Jus­tice Aamer Farooq deci­ded 2,525 cases, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani 1,616 cases, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan 1,490 ca­­ses, Justice Arbab Moham­mad Tahir 1,195 cases, Justice Miangul Hassan Au­­rangzeb 1,021 cases, Ju­­­stice Babar Sattar 964 cases, Justice Tariq Meh­mood Jahangiri 925 cases and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz 835 cases. As per the bench-wise disposal report of 2023, out of the 11,170 decided cases, the IHC chief justice disposed of 1529 cases, Justice Kayani 1,571, Justice Aurangzeb 1,173, Justice Tahir 1,134, Justice Jahangiri 1,079, Justice Khan 963, Justice Sattar 790 and Justice Imtiaz 605.

The dip in the number of de­­ci­ded cases came at a time when the emoluments of high court judges were increased by over 65pc.

In November 2023, the federal government increased the salaries and house rent allowance of high court judges. The house rent of high court judges was increased from Rs65,000 to Rs350,000. Likewise, the superior judicial allowance of the judges was increased from Rs342,431 to Rs1,090,000.

After the hike, the salary of a high court judge exceeded Rs2m per month. At present, there are over 16,000 pending cases before the IHC, with low disposal adding to the backlog.

Islamabad High Court Bar Association Secretary Shafqat Tarar said the filing of petitions has exceeded their disposal.

He said the chief justice decided over 2,500 cases in 2024 and wondered why the remaining judges could not match this figure.

Islamabad Bar Council Vice Chairman Adil Aziz Qazi told Dawn that the IHC was “flooded with political petitions during 2024”. The judges gave “more time” to these cases than routine petitions.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2025