Law about district courts’ pecuniary jurisdiction to be passed soon

Sindh Law, Justice and Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar on Wednesday assured the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) that the legislative process to extend unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction to the district courts in Karachi Division has already begun.

During his meeting with Lanjar, SHCBA President Mohammad Sarfaraz Ali Metlo brought up the long-standing issue of the district courts’ pecuniary jurisdiction. Lanjar said that the appropriate law would be passed by the provincial assembly soon.

He expressed optimism about this progress, and acknowledged the SHCBA’s dedication to advocating for the rights of the people, including the legal fraternity, as well as to improving access to justice.

Metlo said that the development is a significant one for the legal fraternity, reflecting the government’s commitment to strengthening the judicial framework in the province and to the dispensation of expeditious justice to the people.

He said the SHCBA would remain hopeful that this step would enhance the capacity of the judiciary to adjudicate the civil rights of litigants, benefiting both practitioners and litigants alike.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) had also directed the provincial government to give immediate consideration to the overwhelming quantum of pendency in civil nature cases by introducing further amendments in the Sindh Civil Courts Ordinance, 1962, with regard to the pecuniary jurisdiction of the civil courts of Karachi.

Issuing a detailed judgment on petitions about the pecuniary jurisdiction of the civil courts in Karachi, the SHC had directed the provincial government to consider such remedial action by introducing amendments as it thought best.

The court had said the government may table an amendment to Section 7 of the ordinance and other related provisions to eliminate the exception to the jurisdiction of the district judge in respect of Karachi.

The court pointed out that the government may also limit that exception to encompass only those civil suits and proceedings that fall above the prescribed pecuniary threshold and, at the same time, are of a commercial nature, involving commercial disputes.