Amid opposition from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice agreed to increase the number of Supreme Court judges to 25 to help clear the backlog of cases.

During the meeting led by Senator Farooq H. Naek, the committee agreed to raise the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges to 25, including the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

At the committee’s meeting, lawmakers from the former ruling party and JUI-F strongly opposed the decision. PTI Senator Hamid Khan expressed their strong reservations about the legislation. “Such a method to appoint SC judges is an attack on judicial independence,” he said.

JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza, in a statement, said the legislation was meant to appoint “favorite judges” in the top court. “After Oct 25, the judges are working smoothly […] There is no need to increase the sanctioned strength,” he added.

However, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Shahadat Awan emphasized the need to raise the number of Supreme Court judges to at least 21.

In a statement to Geo News, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Khalil Tahir explained that Senator Abdul Qadir had presented the private member bill seeking to increase the strength of Supreme Court judges.

During the meeting, he stated that the majority of Senate Standing Committee members supported increasing the number of judges to 25 for “speedy justice.”

He pointed out that more than 60,000 cases were pending in the apex court and emphasized the need to increase the number of judges in the high courts.

On the other hand, JUI-F Senator Murtaza and PTI’s Hamid expressed their opposition to the bill, arguing that it constitutes an attack on the “independent judiciary.”

He urged the government not to change the principles, stating that such changes would give the impression of appointing favored judges.

“By introducing such legislation, you [the government] are trying to further intensify division [in the judiciary],” he said.

Recently, newly-appointed CJP Yahya Afridi chaired a full court meeting where the attendees were informed that 59,191 cases were currently pending in the apex court.

Earlier in September, the independent senator from Balochistan Mohammad Abdul Qadir tabled a bill in the Upper House of Parliament, seeking to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act of 1997 to increase the number of top court judges to 20, excluding the chief justice.

He sought to increase the number of top court judges from 17 to 21 due to the “more than 53,000 cases” pending in the apex court.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar also supported the legislation and suggested that the new bill be forwarded to the relevant committee.

While addressing the Senate session, Tarar endorsed the points raised by Senator Qadir, noting that several cases related to capital punishment have awaited verdicts since 2015. “One person spent 34 years in jail due to a pending appeal before the top court,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that to reduce the backlog of cases, the government appointed two retired judges—Justice (retd) Tariq Masood and Justice (retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel—as ad hoc judges to the apex court for one year in July.

Meanwhile, the private news channel reported that the government has decided to defer the introduction of a key bill seeking to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the National Assembly.

The House will likely consider the bill on the upcoming Tuesday during private members’ day.

PML-N MNA Danyal Chaudhry will present the bill as a private member, receiving support from members on the treasury benches.

The proposed legislation, which requires a simple majority to pass through the House, aims to increase the number of judges on the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

This development comes as the ruling coalition continues to implement reforms in the country’s judicial structure, with the latest reform being the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which changed the appointment procedure for the CJP, fixed the tenure of the post, and established constitutional benches.

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