ISLAMABAD/KARACHI – The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has issued a landmark ruling addressing the chronic delays in the announcement of judicial decisions, declaring that High Courts are legally bound to announce reserved judgments within 90 days.
In a seven-page judgment authored by Justice Aamer Farooq, the court emphasized that failure to deliver a verdict within the stipulated timeframe constitutes a violation of the law. The FCC noted that any decision announced after the 90-day limit could be declared null and void on that basis alone. The court clarified that the rules governing the Supreme Court and High Courts carry the weight of law, and any violation must result in consequences.
The judgment expressed stern disapproval of leaking decisions or key points before they are officially announced. The FCC ruled that if a bench head discovers a leak—whether intentional or accidental—they have the authority to order a de-novo hearing. These fresh hearings can be conducted by the original bench or a new one. In High Courts, such matters will be referred to the Chief Justice, while in the Supreme Court, they will be managed by the Judges’ Committee.
The ruling came while disposing of an appeal filed by the Pakistan Shipping Corporation regarding a pension payment dispute. The FCC observed that in this specific case, the Sindh High Court (SHC) announced its reserved judgment after a delay of ten months. Consequently, the FCC deleted the observations made by the SHC in that verdict. The court highlighted that judgments are typically reserved when judges need to reach a consensus or deliberate on complex legal issues, but the growing trend of withholding verdicts for months forces parties into an agonizing wait for justice.
To ensure uniform implementation, the court has ordered that copies of this judgment be dispatched to the registrars of all High Courts for strict compliance by judges and judicial staff alike. Timely justice is now considered paramount, especially given the increasing burden of pending cases across the country.
