Retired jurists to perform duties in top court on ad hoc basis for one year to reduce pendency of cases
Tariq Masood and Mazhar Alam Miankhel Sworn in as SC Ad Hoc Judges Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Monday administered the oaths of office to Justice (retd) Tariq Masood and Justice (retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel, appointing them as ad hoc judges of the Supreme Court for a one-year term.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by other Supreme Court judges and Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan. These appointments followed the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari, who sanctioned their roles under Article 182 of the Constitution last Friday. The president’s decision came after the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), chaired by CJP Isa, approved the appointments in a meeting that included eight members: four senior Supreme Court judges (Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin Khan, and Justice Yahya Afridi), retired judge Justice Maqbool Ahmed Malik, AG Awan, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Pakistan Bar Council representative Akhtar Hussain.
Justice Miankhel was initially hesitant to accept the role of ad hoc judge, citing “personal reasons,” making him the third judge to decline the appointment. Prior to him, Justice (retd) Mushir Alam and Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar had also turned down the position.
Retired judges can be appointed as ad hoc judges for up to three years. The aim of appointing ad hoc judges is to expedite the resolution of cases and reduce the backlog in the court system. According to the bi-annual report of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, the number of pending cases surged to 2.26 million in the latter half of 2023, marking a 3.9% increase in overall case pendency. The report indicates that 82% of these pending cases (1.86 million) are at the district judiciary level, while the remaining 18% (0.39 million cases) are at higher tiers, including the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, and high courts. During the same period, 2.38 million new cases were filed, with the courts managing to resolve 2.30 million cases.
