THE Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) is the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes in the country, and is empowered under Article 175 of the Constitution to establish its registry offices for effective dispensation of justice. The SCP registry in Karachi is approached only by the rich in Sindh because only they can afford to file cases or appeals in a city that is far away from their hometowns. That being so, it is not wrong to say that the apex court serves the elite alone.

At present, the Karachi registry deals with more than a thousand cases every year, and at least 70 per cent of the cases decided by Sindh High Court (SHC) benches in Sukkur and Larkana are not challenged by the aggrieved parties in the Supreme Court because they are not financially sound enough to bear the expenses. Thus, the orders passed by the SHC benches become the final verdict.

The establishment of an SCP registry in Sukkur will easily resolve the issue. In fact, other than Sukkur and Larkana divisions, such a registry will also provide relief to the people of Shaheed Benazirabad division in Sindh and even some parts of Punjab and Balochistan as well.

The establishment of the proposed SCP registry would be a much-needed step towards the realisation of constitutional rights of universal access to justice.

Abdul Basit Langah
Khairpur Mirs

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2025