SC begins E-Court system from today

Courts will be connected through video link. The new system will benefit lawyers as well as litigants and make the judicial system more responsive

The Supreme Court began an e-court system on Monday, becoming the first superior court to do so in history.

Courts will be connected through video link. The new system will benefit lawyers as well as litigants and make the judicial system more responsive.

Initially, this facility is being started at the main Supreme Court in Islamabad and the Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry. Advocates in Karachi whose cases are fixed before bench no 1 in Islamabad will argue their cases in a courtroom at the Karachi registry, which has been connected to room no 1 in Islamabad.

Cases will be heard and decided by a three-member bench in Islamabad.

Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah are heading the e-court system. Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa congratulated them on the launch of the system.

The first case to be heard via the e-court system was a bail petition filed by a murder suspect. The bench approved his petition, which had been pending for three years.

Justice Khosa said model courts are giving verdicts in criminal cases in three days and asked why there was such a delay in this case. The additional prosecutor general said the Sindh High Court is burdened with a lot of pending cases.

In response, the court ordered action against the SHC Hyderabad Registry judge who delayed the case and directed the secretary of the Supreme Judicial Council to submit a copy of the high court verdict as well as the judge’s statement before the council.