KARACHI, Aug 8: The Bench and the Bar expressed their concern on Monday over delay in disposal of cases and the ever increasing pendency of matters both on civil and criminal sides.

Addressing a Sindh High Court reference held to mark the commencement of the new judicial year (2005-6) at the end of the two-month-long summer vacation, Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, lawyers’ representatives and law officers agreed that measures should be taken to speed up the rate of disposal. They underscored the problems being faced by lawyers and judges at various levels and resolved to find solutions in order to streamline the working of the judiciary.

SHC Bar Association President Akhtar Hussain, Sindh Bar Council Vice-Chairman Noor Naz Agha, Karachi Bar Association President Mahmoodul Hassan, Deputy Attorney-General Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui and Additional Advocate-General M. Sarwar Khan spoke at the reference. The speakers made the following suggestions:

Lawyers, including law officers, should properly guide and render honest legal advice to their clients, including government departments. Frivolous litigation should be avoided and courts should not be burdened with unnecessary matters. Fewer adjournments should be sought and granted. The judiciary’s strength should be commensurate with the quantum of work.

Cases should not be dismissed for non-prosecution before 11am and cause lists should be adjusted or revised before noon so that counsel and parties in the listed matters do not have to wait till 1.30 to learn of adjournment of their cases. Dismissal in non-prosecution almost invariably leads to restoration plea and prolongs litigation.

A special bench should be created in the high court to deal with labour appeals under the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2002.

General adjournments to lawyers should be granted ‘without exception’. Lawyers practising on labour and service sides should be allowed access to the service tribunal and the labour courts through the side gates. Both gates have been closed and a much longer distance has to be covered by lawyers to approach labour, wages and anti-corruption courts and the service tribunal.

Case files should be sent to the high court branches concerned immediately after passing of orders. Under the rules, every adjourned case is to be fixed after three weeks as a matter of routine.

Special permission for fixation of urgent matters should be required only if they are requested to be heard on the day of filing. All urgent matters filed till 12 o’clock should be fixed for hearing the next day without special permission. Arrangements for preparation and certification of copies should be made in every branch. Certified copies should be signed, sealed and delivered at the same place and without any delay.

Another matter raised was reservation of judgments and orders. At times, the announcement takes much too long and matters have to be reheard as stipulated by the rules.