SC reports decline in pending cases

ISLAMABAD: At the close of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s Autumn 2022 session, data about the disposal of cases against the fresh institutions in the current calendar year 2022 — till December 16 — showed a reduction in the number of pending cases by 2,653.

A reduction in the pendency has taken place for the first time in the year 2022 after the computerisation of the top court’s records began in 2013, a press release read.

The statement by the SC quoted extraordinary efforts by the apex court’s judges for ensuring this positive development. These judges have been working at “less full strength” of the court since February 2022.

This data is based on figures pertaining to petitions and appeals, while it excludes miscellaneous cases arising in the said matters.

In 2013, as per statistics, the institution received 12,223 while the disposal number was 9,060 with a difference of +3,163. The number of cases which came to the apex court in 2014 was 12,677 and disposal was 12,614 with a difference of +1,063.

The country’s top court received 15,544 and disposed of 12,277 cases in 2015 with a difference of +4,367. The number of cases received in 2016 was 18,849, while the apex court disposed of 14,638 with a difference of +4,211. The number in 2017 was 19,469, and the number of those disposed of was 13,946 with a difference of +5,623.

Meanwhile, in 2018 and 2019, cases received by the court were 19,390 and 20,313, while disposal number was 16,961 and 15,533, respectively.

The number of cases that came to the Supreme Court in 2020 was 16,860 and 13,030 were disposed of. In 2021, the institution’s cases were 20,541, while the disposal number was 13,280 with a difference of +7,261. This year, the court received 17,379 cases and disposed of 20,032 pending cases.