ISLAMABAD: Justice Qazi Faez Isa urged Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to "immediately" convene a meeting of Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to fill vacant Supreme Court seats as unfilled seats may leave country's highest court "dysfunctional", it emerged.

Justice Isa appealed to CJP, who also works as chairman of JCP in a letter of September 28. Senior puisne judge highlighted that five vacancies mean that apex court has lost 726 working days and more than "50,000 cases have accumulated in Supreme Court" during this time.  "It pains me to state that cases filed in Supreme Court are unlikely to ever get decided if vacancies are not filled in," Justice Isa told CJP in letter.

 Judge reminded JCP chairman that people have "invested heavily in Supreme Court which employs about 700 staff and has a considerable budget". "Every passing day that five vacancies remain unfilled adds to existing mountain of cases, threatening to render it insurmountable, which may leave Supreme Court dysfunctional.  Constitutional obligation of "expeditious justice" falls on Supreme Court and responsibility falls on Justice Bandial as he is chief justice.  "Sir, I have repeatedly called upon you to do your constitutional duty and let members of commission do theirs.

Published in The Daily National Courier, October, 01 2022

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