Civil, criminal cases to be fixed on first come, first served basis: SC

ISLAMABAD: The meeting of the committee formed under the Practice and Procedure Act, 2023, chaired by Chief Justice of Supreme Court Qazi Faez Isa, has decided that civil and criminal cases would be fixed on first come, first served basis.

It was also decided in the meeting that the petitions filed under Article 184(3) will be fixed in the court after review. The next meeting of this committee of the Supreme Court will be held on January 4.

Meanwhile, the Registrar Supreme Court provided a schedule of the judges to be available at Islamabad and branch registries during the winter vacation 2023, from December 18 to December 29, 2023.

In compliance with the directions of 4th meeting of the committee constituted under Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, the registrar/secretary provided the said schedule of judges who are available at registries during the winter vacations.

According to availability of judges, court roaster was approved during the 5th meeting of the committee, comprising Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Ijazul Ahsan held the other day in the Supreme Court.

According to the court roaster, a three-member bench of the apex court will hear cases at the principal seat, Islamabad, from Monday, December 18 to Friday December 22, 2023.

The bench comprises Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah.

Similarly at Quetta Registry, a two-member bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail will hear the cases.

Likewise, at the Karachi Registry, a three-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hassan Rizvi and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan will hear the cases.

Meanwhile, from Tuesday 26th to Friday 29th December, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood will do chamber work at the Islamabad Registry while a two-member bench comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Musarat Hilali will hear cases at the Peshawar Registry.

Similarly, a three-member bench comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi will hear cases at the Karachi Registry.

Likewise, the committee decided that a civil petition for leave to appeal filed in the apex court shall be abbreviated as CPLA and a constitutional petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution shall be abbreviated as CP.

The committee directed the office to designate, assign and abbreviate these matters and also inform the advocates Supreme Court and Advocates on Record (AORs).

The committee also discussed petitions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution and other matters mentioned in the list and decided to be fixed in court.

It was decided that the draft Procedure Rules for the Committee will be shared with all the members of the committee for discussion thereon in the next meeting, which will be held on 4th January, 2024.