ISLAMABAD:
The National Judicial Policy Development Committee (NJPMC) has been informed that a total of 82,599 undertrial prisoners (UTPs) are currently detained in different prisons across the country.
The NJPMC met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of 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 is yet to be brought into the NJPMC.
During the meeting, the committee was informed that the total number of UTPs nationwide is 82,599. Among them, 2,470 defendants are detained for more than three years.
The NJPMC unanimously decided to place the UTP cases, pending for over three years, on fast track and ordered the trial courts to decide these cases within three months.
According to data shared with the committee, a total of 50,780 PTUs 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 have been in jail for more than three years.
A total of 9,007 UTPs are detained in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), of whom 146 have been incarcerated for more than three years. Similarly, 1,518 UTPs are detained in Balochistan jails, of which only seven have been imprisoned for more than three years.
To discourage false and frivolous cases, the NJPMC constituted a committee headed by the Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) and comprising the registrars of all high courts to suggest measures to provide a statutory framework on the lines of the Cost of Litigation Act, 2017 as implemented in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The committee may co-opt Supreme Court Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb for the case.
It was informed that the government was developing a structured redress mechanism to deal with complaints of non-compliance with the legal requirement of producing arrested persons before a magistrate within 24 hours, which is expected to be finalized within two weeks.
The commission stressed the need to scrupulously comply with all legal requirements, both in letter and spirit.
It was further decided that Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan would keep the committee regularly informed about the progress and implementation of the framework through periodic updates.
Appreciating the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for speedy disposal of high-impact tax cases, the NJPMC expressed satisfaction over the high courts’ overall compliance with its directions.
The committee decided that each high court would constitute designated benches to deal with cases arising under the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreement and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act, 2011.
The NJPMC appreciated the steps taken by the FBR to discourage frivolous litigation, including review of meritless appeals and streamlining of appeal practices.
The committee also appreciated the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) for the progress made in developing litigation management system (LMS) dashboards at the higher court level on the lines of the SC.
The committee appreciated all the high courts in general and the district judiciary in particular, for their exemplary performance in disposing of a large number of cases within the prescribed time frame.
Lauding the efforts of the district judiciary to reduce the backlog, the committee unanimously recommended recognition of the best performers among the judicial officers, by giving them certificates, souvenirs and granting them international exhibition visits.
The committee was informed that the total number of cases pending in the five high courts is 1,274,780 while 754,006 cases are decided in a year.
The committee commended the progress made by the IHC in promoting prison reform initiatives.
The Chief Justices of the High Courts have been asked to convene meetings of their respective provincial justice committees for in-depth review and finalization of the Action Plan on Prison Reforms.
The committee stressed the importance of coordinated monitoring and rapid implementation to ensure significant and lasting improvements in prison administration and prisoners’ rights, an official statement said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has decided to pursue three complaints of misconduct filed against superior court judges.
A meeting of the SJC was held on Wednesday to review 59 complaints. Of these, the SJC ordered the filing of 50 complaints while deferring six complaints. The council, however, decided to continue processing three complaints in accordance with the law.
According to a press release, the council unanimously decided to postpone the finalization of the draft by-law until the next meeting.
For eight complaints, the board was reconstituted and IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar was replaced by Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah.
These eight complaints are likely to be linked to IHC judges.
Earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had also postponed the agenda regarding the appointment of two additional BHC judges due to a constitutional question regarding the appointment of the Balochistan Bar Council representative.
Members stressed the need for a thorough review of the issue before proceeding further. The first meeting of the JCP (main committee) deliberated on the proposed framework to govern the rules governing interviews with candidates at the time of their appointment as judges.
After a preliminary discussion, the committee decided to postpone the agenda to allow members to undertake further deliberations on the proposed regulatory framework.
