ISLAMABAD: While the superior judiciary has announced summer vacations from next month, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) appears to defy the policy and has decided to clear backlog during this period instead.

According to a circular issued by the IHC last week, the administration committee, comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and other judges, “decided that all pending criminal appeals against conviction will be listed during the period commencing from July 1 to October 1.”

The court has advised the lawyers to “ensure their availability during the above span of time” and warned that “no adjournment shall be granted” due to unavailability of the counsel.

Traditionally, the superior judiciary - Supreme Court and high courts - observe nine weeks summer vacations from the second week of July till September.

Superior judiciary observes nine-week holiday from second week of July till September

A legal expert said the tradition begun during the British era when all the judges used to be English who could not cope with the scorching heat of the Indian subcontinent.

Hence, during the summer, the English judges like other English officers would leave for their country through ships and other means of transport.

The journey expanded over weeks, therefore, they required ample time to spend vacations with their families.

Senior lawyer Raja Inam Ameen Minhas said the courts were not air-conditioned in the past and the summer vacations brought some relief to the judges and lawyers.

He said there was no backlog at that time and the courts were not burdened.

According to the statistics of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), the total backlog in Pakistan’s judiciary is over 2.16 million.

Pending cases before the Supreme Court are 46,516, Lahore High Court 188,176, Peshawar High Court 41,042, Balochistan High Court 4,194, Islamabad High Court 16,288 and Federal Shariat Court 178.

The backlog of district judiciary in Punjab is 1,372,908, Sindh 115,815, KP 230,869 and Islamabad 48,242.

During the summer vacations, all courts are not shut down and stop administration of justice and judges work on their turn in the superior and district judiciary.

The high courts have also devised a policy for summer vacations and notify the benches to hear urgent cases, bail matters and petitions seeking enforcement of fundamental rights.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2021