• More than one million cases pending in LHC alone amid shortage of judges
• High court dismisses plea for early hearing in matter pending since 2022

LAHORE: A physical audit has revealed that over one million cases each are pending in both the Lahore High Court and the district judiciary of Punjab, according to a press release issued by the LHC.

The audit, conducted under the direction of Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, “marks the first time that a comprehensive physical audit of pending cases has been carried out in the Lahore High Court’s history”, the statement claimed.

The interim report shows that over one million cases remain unresolved in the LHC, including 65,975 cases at the principal seat in Lahore. This backlog includes 11,836 civil cases, 25,312 criminal cases, 26,175 writ petitions, and 2,652 commercial and tax cases.

Also, 9,703 cases are pending in Bahawalpur, 22,675 in Multan, and 5,343 in Rawalpindi benches of the high court.

The district judiciary of Punjab faces an even greater backlog, with over 1.4 million cases still awaiting resolution, including 1.19 million civil cases and 217,000 session cases.

“These numbers highlight the need for effective measures to reduce the backlog of cases and ensure timely justice for all litigants,” the press release added. A comprehensive plan to address the backlog is expected to be finalised in an upcoming meeting of the LHC’s administration committee.

The Lahore High Court is currently operating with a deficit of 24 judges, with only 36 of the sanctioned 60 judges in service.

Plea for early hearing dismissed

Meanwhile, the LHC dismissed an application seeking an early hearing in the case of 103 terminated deputy accountants, most of them women, whose appointments were revoked following a paper leak scandal.

The division bench, comprising Justice Faisal Zaman Khan and Justice Masud Abid Naqvi, rejected the plea, stating: “No ground for early hearing is made out.”

The case dates back to April 2021, when the finance department of Punjab terminated the appointments made on the recommendation of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). The recommendations were withdrawn after the PPSC became embroiled in a paper leak controversy.

The accountants, who had left previous government posts to take up their new roles, challenged the termination in the LHC.

A single bench, in a detailed judgement titled ‘Chand Iqbal etc versus Province of Punjab’, ruled in their favour, declaring the PPSC had no power to withdraw its recommendations after the appointments were completed.

However, the provincial government took the case directly to the Supreme Court instead of filing an intra-court appeal (ICA) before a division bench of the LHC.

In February 2022, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the LHC with instructions to resolve the matter within 45 days, while also suspending the LHC’s ruling that reinstated the employees.

Later, the government’s appeal was fixed before an LHC division bench headed by then-chief justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, which, after two initial hearings in April 2022, kept the matter pending till his superannuation on March 7, 2024.

“No proper hearing into the appeal has been conducted by the LHC so far,” a female deputy accountant told Dawn. She said that before each hearing in two years, they kept receiving a message from the LHC office about rescheduling the bench’s cause list.

She said many affected employees have since exceeded the age limit for government employment while awaiting a decision by the LHC.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2024