PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice S M Attique Shah on Tuesday inaugurated the first ‘double-docket’ court in the provincial capital, the second in the province, with the judicial officers tasked with working in two shifts.

On the occasion, Peshawar district and sessions judge Inamullah Wazir, PHC registrar Mohammad Zaib Khan, principal secretary to the chief justice Adil Majeed, senior civil judge Arshid Ali Mohmand and other judicial officers were also present.

In Oct this year, the chief justice inaugurated the first ever ‘double-docket’ court in Abbottabad.

The chief justice inspected the court and discussed details with the relevant additional district and sessions judge, who will preside over the said court. The PHC chief justice highlighted that the double docket system symbolised innovation, accountability and accessibility, aiming to reduce backlog without compromising fairness.

The PHC registrar told media persons that they had also received requests from Kohat and Mardan districts for opening of such courts there.

He said that presently two courts here would function as ‘double-docket’ courts.

He stated that this dual focus approach was designed to ensure efficient handling of time-sensitive and socially impactful litigation.

It is pertinent to mention that the PHC had decided in Sep this year to launch ‘double-docket court regime’ as a pilot project in the district judiciary in Peshawar and Abbottabad, where the assigned judicial officers will work in two shifts.

The decision was taken in the light of recommendations of the National Judicial (Policy-making) Committee meeting held on Aug 18, 2025, by Chief Justice S. M. Attique Shah.

About the court timings in SOPs of these courts, a schedule has been given according to which the morning docket would be from 7.30am to 1.30pm, whereas the evening docket (second shift) would be from 2.30pm to 5.30pm.

“This restructured timing is aimed at increasing daily disposal while maintaining judicial quality through adequate compensation and manageable workload distribution,” read the relevant SOPs.

According to SOPs, the DDC should exercise jurisdiction over both civil and criminal matters with specific focus on urgent and sensitive categories.

In civil jurisdiction the DDC would deal with cases related to family matters, rent disputes and cases involving injunctive reliefs.

Similarly, in criminal jurisdiction the DDC would deal with cases involving female accused and juvenile offenders, narcotics cases, and offences carrying punishment of seven years or less imprisonment.

Under the SOPs, case allocation must ensure balance of workload and alignment with the nature of the court’s jurisdiction and fixation of cases in civil matters should be at the mutual consent of the parties or their counsels. The district and sessions judges of the two districts were asked to conduct a performance review of the pilot project after three months of implementation.

According to SOPs, the evaluation should be based on different indicators including: disposal rate and case clearance ratio; reduction in pendency; quality and timeliness of adjudication; feedback from stakeholders (bar, litigants and staff members).

A review report would be submitted to the high court at the end of the pilot project for assessment and further directions.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2025