ISLAMABAD: In a significant move, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar has modified the court’s austerity measures and ordered that even cases without a pre-fixed date should be scheduled for hearing during the four-day judicial week.
A notification issued on March 11 had earlier stated that under the ongoing austerity campaign, only “fixed by court” cases would be taken up during the four-day judicial week from Monday to Thursday. These included bail matters, habeas corpus, emergency petitions and other urgent applications. However, the notification triggered serious concerns among litigants and members of the legal community. Lawyers pointed out that in many cases, courts delegate the authority to set the next hearing date to the Registrar’s Office, which schedules hearings in accordance with the National Judicial Policy and administrative procedures.
As a result, a large number of cases that did not carry a “fixed by court” date risked being left unheard during the limited four-day judicial schedule, potentially causing delays in the disposal of pending litigation. The development led to unease among lawyers and litigants who feared that access to timely hearings could be affected.
Taking note of the concerns, the chief justice has now decided that as part of the austerity drive, such cases should also be listed for hearing as per routine practice during the four-day judicial week, particularly the cases in which the courts have not themselves fixed the next date of hearing.
In this regard, the earlier notification has been amended through a fresh directive to ensure that unfixed cases are not excluded from the weekly cause list. The revised notification has clarified that the scheduling of such cases will continue in the normal manner despite the implementation of the four-day judicial week policy.
The new notification, issued under the signatures of Additional Registrar (Establishment) Rai Muhammad Khan Kharal, directs the relevant court administration to implement the revised instructions with immediate effect and to continue doing so until further orders.
