IHC cuts pending cases by over 3,100 in seven months

ISLAMABAD: After Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar took charge as Acting Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on February 12 this year, number of pending cases decreased from 17,756 to 14,590 in just seven months.

From February 12 to September 30, a total of 10,780 cases were disposed of. Despite 7,735 new cases being filed during this period, backlog of pending cases was reduced.

In comparison, 8,254 cases had been decided during the same period last year. Justice Raja Inam Amin Minhas led the performance by disposing of 1,511 cases in these seven months.

Following Justice Sarfraz Dogar’s transfer from Lahore High Court and his appointment as Acting Chief Justice, a performance report on case disposals at the Islamabad High Court was issued.

According to the statement released by IHC, Justice Sarfraz Dogar initiated reforms in line with the directions of National Judicial Policy Making Committee immediately after taking oath on February 12, resulting in a significant improvement in judicial performance.

On February 12, IHC pending cases stood at 17,756, which dropped to 14,590 in seven months, despite 7,735 fresh filings. Steps were taken to reduce delays and growing burden of pending cases and the decline reflects judicial system is moving rapidly towards becoming more effective and efficient.

Special benches were constituted for overseas Pakistanis and senior citizens. Cases of unlawful detention were scheduled for same-day hearings. Separate benches were also set up for education, revenue, tax and environmental matters.

Tax cases were given special attention because judicial delays had long been a major obstacle to revenue collection at the national level. As a result of these measures, pending tax cases declined significantly, ensuring timely revenue recovery.

From May 5, 2025, to June 9, 2025, a special division bench disposed of 179 tax cases, while another division bench decided 175 tax references.

During the last seven months, Justice Inam Amin Minhas topped the list with 1,511 cases disposed of. Justice Muhammad Azam Khan disposed of 1,299 cases, Justice Muhammad Asif 970, Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar 789 and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani 672.

Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri disposed of 377 cases, Justice Babar Sattar 292, Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan 270 and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir 463, Justice Saman Rafat 404 cases and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro 360 cases.