LAHORE, May 2: The Lahore High Court has disposed of 15,000 cases besides taking steps for dispensation of justice, said an official report for the first quarter of the current year.

It is for the first time in the judicial history of the country, said the report, in the subordinate courts the backlog of family cases was cut to half while the number of cases pending with appellate courts was brought to one-third. Such matters would remain pending adjudication for years in the past.

In order to reduce the number of pending cases in the high court, the chief justice formed special benches of anti-terrorism and National Accountability Bureau. The cases of the condemned prisoners were dealt with on a priority and as were matters relating to juvenile prisoners, women, family and rent suits, according to the report.

One-step upgrade of posts was ordered to reduce financial hardships of judicial officers. With this step all the district and sessions judges throughout Punjab as well as in Islamabad were promoted from BS-20 to BS-21, additional district and sessions judges from BS-19 to BS-20, senior civil judges from BS-18 to BS-19 and civil judges from BS-17 to BS-18. The post of the registrar also was upgraded from BS-21 to BS-22 with effect from Jan 1, 2008, it read.

During the first quarter of the year, two additional district and sessions judges were made sessions judges on the recommendations of the Departmental Promotion Committee. Four judicial officers retired after attaining the age of superannuation and their retirement papers were got prepared on a priority, the LHC said.

On the initiative of the chief justice, it said, the Punjab government had sanctioned transport allowance for the judicial officers in the province. According to a notification issued in this regard, additional sessions judges, senior civil judges and civil judges will get Rs7,000, Rs6,000 and Rs5,000 a month, respectively, as transport allowance with their salaries since Jan 1 this year.

The chief justice also established a separate complaint cell at his secretariat to provide the people an easy access to justice. Members of the bar and the general public had been provided with an avenue to raise their grievances and give suggestions for improvement in the working programme of the system.

The Feb 18 elections were held during the period under review and to fulfill the judicial responsibility, the chief justice chalked out an impartial strategy. The report said under the directions of Chief Justice Sayed Zahid Husain, concrete steps were being taken for the establishment of a judicial academy in the province.

Previously, hundreds of small newspapers/periodicals were deprived of court notices which increased their financial worries. Now the LHC administration committee considered it and took a suitable decision and the matter had been left to the discretion of the judicial officers concerned, the report added.