The Supreme Court ( SC ) on Monday, for the very first time in the judicial history of Pakistan, started hearing cases via e-Court — a system depending on the video-link connection, the apex court publicized in a media announce. "Today, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and including Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel formally initiated the proceedings of cases via the e-Court system at principal chair Islamabad and the SC Karachi registry,” read the media announced.
"The advocates of Karachi, whose cases were set for hearing at the SC Karachi registry, argued their cases through a video-link and the bench at principal seat noticed and decided the cases .” The chief justice, while court date the 1st case through the technology, remarked that a large milestone had been accomplished in the judicial record of Pakistan. "The facility will benefit legal professionals and litigants to save them time and money,” the apex courtroom declared.
Jurists are of the see that by increasing access to the apex court’s principal seat, the e-Court facility will discourage adjournments and motivate the lawful fraternity to plead their cases without delays. It will also offer convenience to lawyers as they will be able to pursue their cases while outstanding in the cities where the court’s branch registries are situated. It will also benefit the litigants as they will not have to travel all the way to Islamabad to take part in courtroom proceedings. This, in turn, will help improve the disposal of cases and decrease the backlog. The system will be cost-effective and develop accessibility, the jurists declared.
Chief Justice Khosa, at his swearing-in ceremony in January, released the agenda for his tenure: "To attend to the causes that contribute towards delay in the disposition of cases at all stages of the judicial hierarchy .” During his talk, he had pressured upon the need to make "structural and systemic changes so as to minimize litigation, eliminate unnecessary delays and rationalize the workload”, and redesigning and modification of the judicial system overall. He has on several occasions called for discouraging frequent adjournments and frivolous litigation and disposing of pending cases in a timely manner.