Despite the passage of over two years since its enforcement on June 1, 2009, the National Judicial Policy has so far failed to achieve its targets at the district level, where cases are not being disposed of in accordance with policy guidelines and corruption runs rampant.
An overwhelming majority of lawyers practicing at district courts across the country told Pakistan Today that the guidelines set in the policy for speedy disposal of cases and speedy dispensation of justice were not being followed in letter and spirit by the district judiciary. As far as disposal of cases was concerned, they said the situation was at its worst in almost all provinces, particularly in Punjab. They said cases at the district level judiciary were not being decided speedily and it had miserably failed in establishing an impression that justice was being served.
They said the “Cell for Eradication of Corruption from Judiciary” was established in high courts to entertain complaints against judicial officers, but its was still ineffective and actions were not being initiated against the judicial officers and staff who were reputedly corrupt or had a lifestyle beyond their means of income. The lawyers said the short-term and long-term measures for expeditious disposal of cases set in the judicial policy had not been met. The judicial policy envisages that the bail applications should be decided by magistrates in three days, whereas ground reality was far from it, as such cases were taking weeks and months to get decided, they said.
The lawyers added that criminal cases punishable with imprisonment from one to seven years registered after January 1, 2009 were not being kept on fast track for disposal within three months, which was a violation of the provisions of the judicial policy.
Stay matters were also not being decided within 15 days of grant of interim injunction. Besides, they said rent cases were not being decided speedily within a prescribed period of 30 days, adding that the civil appeals, writ petitions and other miscellaneous review petitions pertaining to rent matters were also not being decided in 90 days. They said according to the judicial policy, family cases should be decided within three months, however, such cases were taking six months to a year in getting decided.
The lawyers said district judges were not adopting measures that ensured handling of 50 percent of cases from backlog (filed on or before 31 December 2008) and 50 percent from current cases. They said the strength of judicial officers was not being increased by the government to cope with the growing backlog of cases.
