Backlog of cases drops in SC in four months

ISLAMABAD: Despite the current strength of 14 against sanctioned 17 judges, the pendency/ backlog of cases in Supreme Court of Pakistan has declined by 1182 during the last four months.

The backlog of cases stood at 53,964 on January 31, which has reduced to 52,796. A total of 6,509 cases were instituted in the court during the period from February 1 to May 31, while 7,691 of them were disposed of during the period, says a press release issued by the office of the Apex Court on Friday.

It stated the corresponding numbers for the same period for the year 2021 stood at 7,603 and 3,730 respectively, showing an increase of 3,873 cases in pendency. The current strength of judges in the Supreme Court is 14 against the sanctioned strength of 17, compared to 16 during the same period last year. The average disposal of cases per day was 96 against an average institution of 67 cases per day while the corresponding numbers for the previous year, during the same period, were 54 and 81 respectively.

It further stated that despite working at a strength of 14, the average disposal per judge, during the period, was 549 compared to 233 for the same period in the previous year. From December 31, 2013 onwards, the backlog/pending cases in the Apex Court had increased from 20,517 to 53,560 on December 31, 2021.

The annual increase in pendency ranged between 1,087 in the year 2014 to 7,203 in the year 2021, the press release says, adding that the last four months have seen a decline in pending cases for the first time since December 31, 2013.