PHC devises policy to clear backlog of cases

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has devised a five-year Performance and Monitoring Evaluation Policy to promote transparency and clear the backlog of cases.

A press release issued by the PHC registrar on Monday said the performance and evaluation policy aimed at providing expeditious justice to improve the image of the judicial system. It said the high court and the district judiciary encountered multiple challenges such as strikes by lawyers, Covid-19 pandemic and lack of proper infrastructure in merged districts. It said inadequate human resources and logistic constraints adversely affected the performance of the judiciary that increased pendency despite strenuous efforts of judicial officers for timely disposal of cases. The PHC devised the five-year Performance and Monitoring Evaluation Policy to promote transparency and clear the backlog.

The policy was launched after being approved by the chief justice after deliberation with the district judiciary. It aims to clear the backlog by August 2025. To achieve the goal, the province has been divided into three zones i.e. A, B and C. The policy required gradual reduction of the backlog of cases from each zone annually on the ratio of 20, 30 & 100 per cent respectively. For the first time, 220 judicial working days for each judicial officer have been worked out with the specified required disposal ratio. The policy has prescribed monitoring of judicial officers at three levels. The targets of each district have been laid down in the policy that will enable each judicial officer at the end of the month to assess his/her performance at the individual level. The district and sessions judge, being head of the district and a team leader, will monitor the performance of his/her district on a monthly basis and the Data Analysis Wing established at the secretariat of district judiciary shall keep a track of the performance of each district and every judicial officer on a quarterly basis.

The policy aims at promoting the culture of meritorious summary adjudication of cases so as to reduce the cost of litigation and improve public confidence in the institution. It also aims at encouraging scheduling culture in trial cases. The district and sessions judge will hold a meeting of Bench Bar Liaison Committee on a monthly basis to achieve goals prescribed by policy. Efforts would be made and measures taken to build the capacity of judicial officers to exploit strengths, overcome weaknesses and turn the challenges into opportunities.