Three judges face action as Supreme Judicial Council clears 50 complaints

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Wednesday dismissed 50 complaints filed against judges and decided to proceed further on three others after reviewing a total of 59 cases, an official statement said.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, examined the complaints in Islamabad.

 Six complaints were deferred, while the council resolved to continue proceedings in three cases. A draft related to new rules-making was also postponed until the next meeting.

During deliberations over complaints against Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, IHC Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar did not attend the session.

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Atiq Shah participated in the proceedings as a council member while complaints concerning IHC judges were reviewed.

Separately, Chief Justice Afridi also presided over the 57th meeting of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC), where key decisions were taken to advance judicial reforms and improve timely delivery of justice.

The committee decided to establish within two weeks a formal complaint mechanism for cases in which missing persons or arrested individuals are not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, as required by law.

The Attorney General was directed to present a progress report on the legal framework concerning enforced disappearances and arrests.

The meeting approved guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in judicial institutions.

High courts will be empowered to formulate their own procedures and safeguards for implementing judicial AI systems.

The committee also decided to amend court rules to implement e-filing in all districts nationwide and directed authorities to expedite legislation introducing mandatory pre-trial mediation. It was further agreed that dedicated benches would be set up in all high courts to hear cases related to foreign arbitral awards.

Participants commended the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for discouraging frivolous appeals and screening unnecessary litigation.

Highlighting judicial performance, the meeting was informed that more than 754,000 cases were disposed of across the country between September 1, 2025 and January 15, 2026. Nearly all cases pending before 2020 at the Lahore High Court have been cleared.

Over the past four months, more than 59,000 cases were decided in model civil and criminal courts, while reforms undertaken by the Islamabad High Court in prison administration were also praised.

The committee additionally resolved to focus during 2026-27 on establishing family support and mediation centres for women across all provinces.