A bill to increase the number of Supreme Court judges has been presented in the Senate, which has now been sent to the relevant committee for further consideration.
According to the report, Senator Abdul Qadir presented the bill during the Senate session, proposing the appointment of 20 judges in the Supreme Court in addition to the Chief Justice.
Senator Abdul Qadir emphasized that more than 53,000 cases are pending in the Supreme Court, with decisions taking up to two years. He believes that 16 additional judges are needed due to the increasing number of constitutional cases and the frequent formation of larger benches.
He stated that billions of rupees worth of cases are pending in the Supreme Court, and the court does not have time to decide them.
PTI opposed the bill, with Senator Ali Zafar calling it immediate and ambiguous. Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar acknowledged the issue, stating that death penalty and life imprisonment cases are also delayed, with one person spending 34 years in jail due to the delay in their appeal.
He confirmed the need for ten additional judges for the Peshawar High Court and mentioned that the PTI government there is providing judges. He stressed that the bill should be referred to the relevant committee.
PTI Senator Ali Zafar objected, saying that the sudden increase in the number of judges is unexpected and described it as an attempt at judicial martial law. He stated that they are only willing to increase the number of judges by two, instead of the proposed seven, and suggested that the subordinate judiciary should be expanded first.
Saifullah Abro criticized that after the Supreme Court’s decision on reserved seats, PTI began demanding an increase in the number of judges. Aimal Wali mentioned that such issues arise when decisions are made through other means. He highlighted the need for detailed reforms in the lower judiciary and noted that news reports about the need for additional judges are the result of the use of the lower house.
The Chairman of the Senate has referred the bill to the relevant committee for further deliberation.
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