close
Tuesday March 19, 2024

Model criminal trial courts to be set up for swift disposal of old cases

By Jamal Khurshid
March 19, 2019

Sindh’s top judge on Monday ordered that a model criminal trial court (MCTC) be established in every district of the province for swift disposal of old murder and narcotics cases.

Following the decision of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC), the Sindh High Court (SHC) chief justice ordered the establishment of one MCTC in every judicial district of the province in accordance with the Constitution that ensures inexpensive and expeditious justice and the right of a fair trial.

According to Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh’s order issued to the district courts, the status of the model court has been assigned to the court of the first additional sessions judge throughout the province, except in Tando Mohammad Khan, where it will be presided over by the district & sessions judge.

The MCTCs will be time-bound criminal courts and their ultimate objective will be to deal with old murder and narcotics cases on a day-to-day basis, and the matters entrusted to them will be decided within three months in any case.

The federal and provincial governments have been directed for doing the needful in order to confer the powers to deal with narcotics cases and enable the MCTCs to try such cases expeditiously.

The CJ directed all the district & sessions judges to gradually transfer such cases to the MCTCs. He said that in the next phase the concept of model courts will be extended further for civil, family and rent matters as well as cases falling in other categories by establishing such courts. One more MCTC is likely to be set up in each district in the near future.

The NJPMC meeting headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa on March 11 had decided to take the expeditious justice initiative under Article 37(d) of the Constitution and ordered the establishment of model courts at district level throughout the country to conduct trials on a day-to-day and continuous basis.

It was decided that no adjournments will be granted by the model courts and a trial schedule will be issued for the observance of lawyers and prosecutors, who will also give details of their juniors and replacements so that the trial may be concluded within the time frame. The attendance of witnesses will be ensured through special process servers.

The SP-investigation of each district will act as the focal person for the police department at district level and liaise with the process cell. The incharge of the investigation of each police station will be responsible for the production of all witnesses, except medical witnesses, and case property, while for the timely production of medical witnesses, the secretaries of the relevant health departments will be approached.

It was also decided that in case the lawyers engaged in the trials in the model courts are to appear in the superior courts on the same day, upon production of a certificate by the lawyer to appear in the model court on the same day will be spared by the superior court.