ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court’s disposal report for May 2025 shows a striking trend: recently appointed judges significantly outperformed their senior colleagues again in the number of cases resolved, driving the court’s overall disposal to 1415 cases.

The data, released by the IHC on its official website shows recently-appointed judges leading the disposal charts.

Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas once again topped the list with a remarkable 274 cases decided. This is more than triple the output of over half of the IHC judges’ disposal figures and the highest single-judge tally for the month.

Justice Mohammad Azam Khan disposed of 181 cases: Justice Mohammad Asif decided 113 cases and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro cleared 80 cases.

Acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar disposed of 83 cases. Senior judges like Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani (134 cases) and Justice Babar Sattar (71 cases) performed respectably, but were still surpassed by several juniors.

Other senior justices disposed of between 52 and 71 cases individually.

The division bench of Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir and Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas disposed of 39 cases. The bench of Justice Azam Khan and Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas cleared 67 cases. The bench of Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan resolved 64 cases.

These combined benches, heavily featuring recently appointed judges, accounted for some of the highest disposal figures among the paired groupings.

According to legal experts, the data highlighted the substantial contribution of the IHC’s newer appointees to the court’s workload management.

The exceptional output of Justices Minhas, Azam Khan, Asif and Soomro suggests a focus on efficiency and case clearance within the junior ranks, playing a pivotal role in addressing the court’s docket during the month. While senior judges maintained steady output, the sheer volume handled by their junior colleagues was the defining feature of May’s judicial work at the IHC, they said.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2025