ISLAMABAD – Despite the efforts made by the top judge to eliminate the backlog, the pendency in cases currently under scrutiny by the Supreme Court is increasing day by day and currently 38,913 cases are languishing, till April 30.
According to the annual report 2016-17 issued by the apex court, the trend of increase in the institution of cases and consequential piling up of backlogs continues, however, it adds that the huge pendency coupled with a high rate of the case registration was in the notice of the chief justice and the judges.
Statistically, the rate of pendency has risen almost 100% during the last five to seven years because in 2001, the number of cases in the SC backlog was recorded at 13,070.
The trends suggest that the number has increased each year since 2001 as 17,370 cases were pending in 2002 while in 2003 the number swelled to 20,031. The current figures are 15-year-high for the top court.
In 2016, 32,744 cases were pending before the top court raising concerns about the efficacy of superior judiciary currently hearing multiple cases of public importance.
The report also outlines that the rise in the institution of cases was mainly on account of the higher rate of disposal of cases in the high courts, resolving that strategies would be evolved to deal with the heavy backlogs.
The report also highlights the reasons behind a swift swell in 2016 saying, on June 1, 2016, the pendency of the cases in the SC stood at 29,665, and after exactly a year about 20,237 new cases were filed.
“During the same period, some 14,999 cases were decided, increasing the overall pendency to 34,903,” it adds.
the report states that in 2001, 15243 cases were filed in the apex court. Later 13,847, 12,990, 17,521, 15,802, 12,424, 13,874, 12,189, 17,661, 16,291, 14,164, 15,939, 18,154, 18,520, 19,302 and 21,619 cases were instituted in each year from 2002 to 2016.
Meanwhile, the SC’s annual report stated that human dignity is inviolable and it can only be safeguarded through preservation of human rights.
“These rights are correlated, having a universal application without any discrimination. Respect and equality of inhabitants require an even playing field for future accomplishments and sustainable development of a nation-state”, it read.
Similarly, the report also adds that the CJP himself supervises the Supreme Court Human Rights Cell where 2,500 to 3,000 applications are received every month, Express Tribune reported.
On June 1, 2016, the pendency of cases in the HRC stood at 9,903. During the reported period, 29,432 new applications were received, while 28,781 were disposed, increasing overall pendency to 10,554 till May 2017, according to the annual report.
