Islamabad: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday handed down a landmark judgment which would mitigate the sufferings of litigants due to an inordinate delay in verdicts as the apex court bound the high courts and subordinate judiciary to give judgments within the time prescribed by the judgment.
The judgment was authored by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar. In the judgment, the civil courts are directed to deliver their judgments within 30 days after the conclusion of the trial. Similarly, the district courts will have to deliver their judgments within 45 days and the time frame for high courts has been prescribed as 90 days.
The Supreme Court had also recommended disciplinary action against the judges who would fail to meet this timeline.
It is important to mention here that an undesirable practice was followed by the subordinate judiciary with litigants having to wait for months and in some cases for years for judgments of their cases after the conclusion of the trial.
The judgment states that without a judgment, there is no concept of justice and the fruitful outcome of litigation which, without any fear of contradiction, means that the state lacks an effective justice system. In such a situation, the Supreme Court also observed if the judge/the court did not pronounce a judgment for resolving the legal and factual issues involved in a dispute, the very purpose of the judicial branch of the state would be frustrated and eroded.
If there was no judgment in terms of law, the entire judicial set-up would be rendered farcical and illusionary, which obviously would in turn disturb the equilibrium between the pillars of the State upon which it rests, resulting in a serious impairment of the functioning of the State.
According to members of the bar, this judgment will improve the efficiency of the judicial system and enhance the faith of the common man in the judicial system and rule of law. The judgment has been warmly welcomed by the legal fraternity.
