PHC says stakeholders were on board to suggest amends to CPC

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has said that all stakeholders, including bar associations, were taken on board to give suggestions for amendments to the Civil Procedure Code (CPC).

“Two sessions have been held. The last session was held on January 10, 2019 which was attended by other stakeholders and office-bearers of Peshawar High Court Bar Association to amend the law to bring an end to lengthy litigation,” the PHC explained in a detailed statement issued on Tuesday.

The PHC said all stakeholders had been taken on board to amend the CPC.

The PHC’s statement came after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council passed a resolution on January 19 stating that trial of cases under the amended CPC was not possible.

The provincial government had brought major amendments to the British-era Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, proposed by the PHC to dispose of cases within a specific period.

The KP Bar Council through its vice-chairman Fida Muhammad Khan had on January 19 issued a resolution stating that the bar associations of the province have unanimously decided that the amendments to CPC were neither acceptable nor practically applicable.

It said majority of the amendments to the orders/rules were itself in violation of the sections of CPC due to which the lawyers and litigants would face difficulties if these were implemented.

The KP Bar Council also stated that the implementation of the amended CPC be suspended.

However, the PHC in the statement clarified that bar associations had been taken on board and had agreed to the proposed draft bill except for the Swat Bar Association.

“The amendments in question were issued vide notification No.15-J dated 23.01.2018. It was done with a view to curtailing the delay in disposal of civil litigation,” the PHC said.

It said the KP Judicial Academy arranged a seminar on April 18, 2017 which was attended by all stakeholders. “The Rules Committee of the Peshawar High Court attended the seminar. The participants included members of almost all the High Courts and Judicial Academies of Pakistan,” it said, adding that the Judicial Academy prepared a draft in accordance with section 122 of CPC and sent it to the PHC for necessary action.

It was added that the members of the Rule Committee consisted of PHC judges and senior lawyers of Peshawar Bar Association who deliberated on the draft for four months. “After a detailed appraisal, the draft was approved and sent to the government which cleared it after a detailed discussion and subsequently notified,” the PHC explained in the statement.