More than 2 million cases pending in courts: report

ISLAMABAD: The overall pendency of cases in courts has increased by 3.9%, reaching the staggering number of 2.26 million during the second half of the year 2023.

In its bi-annual report of judicial statistics for the period from July to December 2023, the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan revealed that 82% of the pending cases (1.86 million) were at the district judiciary level and the remaining 18% (0.39 million cases) were at the upper tier, including the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, and high courts, according to a news release.

As per the report, 2.38 million new cases were filed during the period, while the courts managed to decide 2.30 million cases.

Despite a significant settlement of cases, the pending cases increased due to the continual filing of new ones, the statement said.

"Civil cases constitute 81% of the cases pending in the high courts, while criminal cases account for 19%.”

“On the other hand, at the level of the district judiciary, civil cases constitute 64% of the pending cases, while the remaining 36% comprise criminal cases," it added, quoting the report.

Last month, the SC released its first quarterly report from September 17 to December 16, 2023, revealing that the apex court disposed of more than 5,000 cases in four months.

The move, adhering to people's right to information as enshrined by Article 19-A of the Constitution, was aimed at fulfilling the top court's duty to better serve the people of Pakistan, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa said in a statement.

The report underscored the expedited handling of cases by the SC, saying that it disposed of 5,305 cases between September and December 2023 — meaning that more cases were disposed of than those 4,466 filed in the apex court.