2.26 million cases pending across Pakistan, reveals LJCP report

ISLAMABAD: The number of pending cases across the country has reached to 2.26 million as of December 2023, the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) said in its report.

In its bi-annual report of Judicial Statistics for the period from July to December 2023, the LJCP revealed that 1.86 million (82 percent) cases are pending at the district judiciary level while the remaining 0.39 million cases (18 percent) are at the upper tier, including the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, and high courts

The report said that the overall pendency of cases in courts has increased by 3.9% during July-December 2023.

According to the report, 2.38 million new cases were filed during the period, while the courts managed to decide 2.30 million cases. Despite significant settlement of cases, the pending cases increased due to the continual filing of new ones.

“Civil cases constitute 81 percent of the cases pending in the high courts, while criminal cases account for 19 percent. On the other hand, at the level of the district judiciary, civil cases constitute 64 percent of the pending cases, while the remaining 36 percent comprise criminal cases,” the report read.

The report is also available on the website and social media page of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.

Earlier on January 21, the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan in its report revealed that more than 55,000 cases are pending before it as of 16^th December 2023.

According to a quarterly report (from 17^th September 2023 to 17^th December 2023), the top court of the country has disposed of 859 during the period. The report, issued under Article 19-A which guarantees right to information, read that the number of pending cases was 56,503 on 17^th September 2023 and dropped to 55,644 on 17^th December 2023.

The SC disposed of 859 cases in the three months.