The Lahore High Court has expressed concern about the alarming backlog of 362,000 cases in Punjab, metaphorically asking if these cases have “disappeared into the earth or the sky.”
This expression of frustration came during a hearing of a drug-related case when the court was briefed about persistent delays and inefficiencies in case management. The court criticized the tardy submission of challans (charge sheets) and sought specific details regarding cases settled through negotiations.
The Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court emphasized the need to modernize the case registration process and questioned the Inspector General (IG) of Punjab about the current status. The court queried, “What is happening in the province? Over 350,000 cases have been registered; have they vanished into thin air? Which districts are encountering the greatest challenges?”
Responding to the court’s inquiries, the IG Punjab reported that 150,000 cases have been traced and their challans prepared after ongoing meetings. Additionally, show-cause notices have been issued to over 11,800 investigative officers, and punitive actions have been taken against 11,000 personnel.
He also reported a 46% surge in case registrations over the past eighteen months. Specifically, Lahore accounted for 59,000 cases, while Faisalabad reported 81,000. In Lodhran, a stark issue was highlighted as the rate of completed challans dropped to zero, with each investigator handling an average of 160 cases annually.
The court requested detailed updates on the 202,000 outstanding challans and noted the absence of information regarding cases resolved through settlements, which should have been reported to the judiciary. Moreover, the court pointed out that while records since 2017 have been requested, earlier records remain undisclosed. The court stressed that given the workload assigned to each investigator, preparing challans should be feasible, emphasizing that delays in these submissions detrimentally affect legal proceedings.
