ISLAMABAD:
The National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) has been informed that a total of 82,599 under trial prisoners (UTPs) are currently detained in different jails of the country.
The NJPMC met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), Yahya Afridi. Chief justices of all high courts attended the meeting. Interestingly, Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan has not yet been made part of the NJPMC.
During the meeting, the committee was informed that the total number of UTPs all over the country is 82,599. Out of them, 2,470 under trial prisoners are confined for more than three years.
The NJPMC unanimously decided to put UTP cases, pending for more than three years, on fast-track and ordered trial courts to decide such cases within three months.
According to the data shared with the committee, a total of 50,780 UTPs are detained in Punjab and 1,609 of them are confined for more than three years. In Sindh, 21,294 UTPs are detained and 708 of them are in prisons for more than three years.
A total of 9,007 UTPs are detained in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) of which 146 are confined for more than three years. Likewise, 1,518 UTPs are detained in Balochistan jails with only seven imprisoned for more than three years.
For discouraging the false and frivolous cases, the NJPMC constituted a committee headed by the Balochistan High Court (BHC) chief justice and comprising the registrars of all the high courts for suggesting measures to provide for statutory framework on the pattern of the Cost of Litigation Act, 2017 as enforced in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The committee may co-opt Supreme Court’s Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb for this matter.
It was informed that the government is in the process of developing a structured redressal mechanism for addressing complaints of non-compliance with the legal requirement of production of arrested persons before a magistrate within 24 hours, which is expected to be finalized within two weeks.
The committee underscored the need for strict compliance with all statutory requirements, to be observed in both letter and spirit.
It was further resolved that Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan shall keep the committee regularly apprised of the progress and implementation of the framework through periodic updates.
Appreciating the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the expeditious disposal of high-impact tax cases, the NJPMC expressed satisfaction with the overall compliance by the high courts with its directions.
The committee decided that every high court shall constitute designated benches for dealing with cases arising out of the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreement and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act, 2011.
The NJPMC appreciated the measures undertaken by the FBR to discourage frivolous litigation, including screening of meritless appeals and rationalization of appellate practices.
The committee also appreciated the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) for the progress made in developing high courtwise Litigation Management System (LMS) dashboards on the pattern of the SC.
The committee appreciated all the high courts in general and the district judiciary in particular, for exemplary performance in disposal of a huge number of cases within the prescribed timelines.
Commending the efforts of district judiciary in reduction of backlog, the committee unanimously recommended acknowledgment of best performers amongst the judicial officers, by giving them certificates, souvenirs and consideration for international exposure visits.
The committee was informed that the total number of pending cases in all five high courts is 1,274,780 while 754,006 cases are decided in one year.
The committee commended the progress made by the IHC in advancing jail reform initiatives.
The chief justices of the high courts were asked to convene meetings of their respective provincial justice committees for a comprehensive review and finalization of the Action Plan on Jail Reforms.
The committee emphasized the importance of coordinated oversight and timely implementation to ensure meaningful and sustainable improvements in prison administration and inmates’ rights, said an official statement.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has decided to further proceed on three complaints of misconduct filed against superior courts judges.
A meeting of the SJC was held on Wednesday to examine 59 complaints. Of these, the SJC ordered filing of 50 complaints while deferring six complaints. The council, however, decided to further process three complaints in accordance with the law.
According to a statement, the council unanimously decided to defer the finalization of the draft rules until the next meeting.
For eight complaints, the council was reconstituted with IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar being replaced with Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah.
These eight complaints are likely to be related to IHC judges.
Earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) also deferred the agenda regarding the appointment of two additional judges of the BHC in view of a constitutional question concerning the nomination of the representative of the Balochistan Bar Council.
The members emphasized the need for comprehensive consideration of the issue before proceeding further. The first meeting of the JCP (core commission) deliberated upon the proposed framework for framing rules governing interviews of candidates at the time of their appointment as judges.
After preliminary discussion, the commission resolved to defer the agenda to enable members to undertake further in-depth deliberations on the proposed regulatory framework.
