Supreme Court considers unified e-filing system for courts nationwide

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi chaired a meeting of the National Judicial Automation Committee, where officials and judges discussed the introduction of a uniform electronic filing system for courts across the country.

According to an official statement issued after the meeting, the committee agreed to begin work on an e-filing pilot project for family cases. Under the initial phase, the pilot programme will be launched in selected courts across all provinces as well as Islamabad.

The committee also considered introducing a “One Case, One Identity” system to give every case a unique identification number. The proposed system is aimed at making it easier to track cases and manage judicial records through a centralised digital mechanism.

A proposal was also discussed to introduce a single comprehensive template for e-filing across Pakistan. The participants stressed that the system should be designed in a simple and user-friendly manner so that judges, lawyers, court staff and litigants can use it without difficulty.

Committee members were directed to submit their recommendations on the proposed e-filing template within two weeks. Their feedback will be considered before further steps are taken to develop and implement the system.

The meeting also reviewed a dashboard designed to provide real-time monitoring of judicial data. The dashboard is intended to improve access to updated information about court proceedings and case-related statistics.

The committee expressed concern over delays in receiving judicial data from prisons. According to the meeting, information from prisons is currently being received with a delay of around one month, which can affect timely monitoring and coordination between judicial institutions.

The meeting was attended by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Arbab Tahir and Justice Azam Khan.

Lahore High Court judges Justice Sultan Tanveer Ahmed and Justice Khalid Ishaq also participated in the meeting through video link. From the Sindh High Court, Justice Muhammad Faisal Kamal Alam and Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry joined the proceedings online.

Peshawar High Court judges Justice Waqar Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Fahim Wali also attended virtually. Balochistan High Court judges Justice Shaukat Ali Rakhshani and Justice Gul Hasan Tareen were among the other participants who joined the meeting online.