Supreme Court warns Govt over wasting judicial time

WEB DESK: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has criticised government departments, especially the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), for repeatedly filing appeals on legal issues that have already been settled by the court.

In a six-page judgment issued on February 2, a three-member bench headed by Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan dismissed an FBR appeal, calling such filings a waste of judicial time and public resources. The verdict was authored by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

The case involved a tax dispute in which the FBR issued a notice and passed an order after the legally allowed 120-day period under the Sales Tax Act, 1990. The Supreme Court noted that this issue has already been decided in several past rulings and no longer requires further litigation.

The bench observed that proper scrutiny before filing the petition would have made it clear that the matter was already settled by binding Supreme Court judgments.

The court stressed that the government must behave as a responsible litigant and avoid filing routine or mechanical appeals. It warned that such practices add to the case backlog, delay justice for ordinary citizens, and burden the judicial system.

The Supreme Court directed the FBR chairman to ensure that appeals are filed only in cases where legal questions remain unsettled. It also suggested setting up internal review mechanisms to prevent unnecessary litigation and, where appropriate, fixing responsibility on officers involved in filing weak cases.