The Supreme Court of Pakistan is grappling with an unprecedented backlog of over 57,000 pending cases, marking a historic high in the country’s legal proceedings. Over the past year, the backlog has surged by nearly 4,500 cases, with a significant portion comprising 3,353 appeals from incarcerated individuals awaiting judgments.
As of April 15, the apex court is contending with over 10,000 pending criminal cases, while the number of appeals awaiting formal hearings against High Court decisions has skyrocketed to a daunting 31,000.
This surge in pending cases starkly contrasts with the judicial landscape of just two years ago. A report from 2022 had already raised alarms, revealing that high and lower courts were inundated with a backlog of 2.144 million cases. Despite the resolution of over 4.12 lakh cases in 2021, a staggering 4.06 million new cases inundated the system.
The complexities of the legal system have compounded this mounting challenge. The Supreme Court, Federal Sharia Court, and five High Courts collectively resolved 229,822 cases while introducing 241,250 new cases last year alone.
The backlog in the High Courts alone reached 389,549 cases by December 31, 2021, indicating significant strain on the judicial machinery.
Similarly, the district judiciary faced its own set of challenges. Despite resolving over 38.72 lakh cases, the system was inundated with 38.22 lakh new cases in 2021, leaving 17.54 lakh cases pending before lower courts by year-end.
Efforts to address this backlog have been ongoing, with the establishment of the National Judicial Policy in 2009 aimed at expediting case disposal and enhancing public trust in the justice system. However, with the backlog continuing to swell, there is an urgent need for comprehensive reforms to ensure timely justice for all.
