With only 12 judges working on the 40 seats reserved in the Sindh High Court (SHC), more than 70,000 cases of different natures remain pending before the province’s upper judicial forum. At least 300 appeals, constitutional petitions, civil suits among other cases are being put before single, divisional, appellate, special benches and other special tribunals on daily basis, but only 20 to 30 matters can be proceeded as SHC Chief Justice Mushir Alam has directed the staff of the court to present only 40 matters before the benches. Three different constitutional petitions are under proceedings before a three-member bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar. The petitions seeking immediate placement of judges on the vacant positions were filed by the SHC bar associations of Karachi and Sukkur and an individual petitioner.
More than 50 cases of missing persons belonging to different nationalist parties and banned organisations are also pending before the SHC benches. Several cases have had no hearings despite being filed in the SHC many months ago. Meanwhile, over 100,000 cases are also pending in the 437 sub-ordinate (district) courts of 27 districts of Sindh that are working under the administrative supervision of the SHC. According to legal experts, the vacant seats of judges in high courts need to be filled within a period of 30 days.
However, despite the passage of many months, the 28 positions remain vacant, resulting in immense difficulties for the litigants, witnesses, defence lawyers and other persons relevant. It is worth mentioning that the SHC’s principle bench at Karachi is the only high court of the country where matters of civil nature over the tune of Rs 3 million proceed due to Karachi being a port city. In the remaining part of the province and the country, all civil matters whatever their valuation proceed in the courts of senior civil judges.
