| Citation(s) |
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| 2023 SLG 2094 2023 SLD 2094 = 2094 PLD 187 |
Constitutional Petitions Nos. D-5913 of 2018 and D-1222 of 2021, decided on 20th February, 2023.
Before Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh C.J. and Yousuf Ali Sayeed, J
Fahim Zia and Raja Muhammad, Members, Sindh Bar Council, Muhammad Saleem Mangrio and Aamir Nawaz Warraich, President and General Secretary, Sindh High Court Bar Association, Amir Saleem, President Karachi Bar Association, Abdul Hafeez Balouch, General Secretary, Malir Bar Association for
Respondents. Kazi Abdul Hameed Siddiqui, D.A.G. and Mubashir Mirza, Asstt. A.G. for
Respondents. Hassan Akbar, Advocate General, Sindh assisted by Muhammad Jawad Dero, Addl. A.G. Sindh, Saifullah and Saima Imdad Mangi, Asstt. Advocates General, Sindh, along with Abdul Sattar Pathan; Nadeem Ahmed Qureshi, Law Officers, Law Department, Government of Sindh and Dr. Liaquat Ali Abro, Consultant Law to Chief Secretary, Government of Sindh. Khawaja Shams-ul-Islam, Muhammad Ali Lakhani, Ali Murad Gulzar, Taimoor Ali Mirza, Mujtaba Sohail Raja and Aijaz Ahmed and Arif Mustafa Jatoi, Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Interveners. Dates of hearing: 8th, 16th and 20th February, 2023.
GHULAM ASGHAR PATHAN and others---Petitioners
VERSUS
FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN and others---Respondents
Law: Sindh Civil Court Ordinance, 1962
Section: 7
(a) Sindh Civil Courts Ordinance (II of 1962)---
----S. 7---Original jurisdiction of the court of District Judge---Original jurisdiction of High Court ---Scope---Commercial cases---Petitioners argued that S. 7 of the Sindh Civil Courts Ordinance, 1962, concentrated cases which should be heard in the ordinary courts of civil judicature under the aegis of District Judge, instead of the High Court---Petitioners claimed that limiting the pecuniary jurisdiction of District Courts in Karachi District was discriminatory, as such jurisdiction was unlimited in all other districts and throughout the country---Held, that while preserving the jurisdiction for commercial disputes was important, the singular basis of a pecuniary threshold was unworkable, as it lead to an overwhelming number of non-commercial cases inundating the forum and delaying the resolution of commercial disputes---Most of the pending civil cases in the High Court are of a non-commercial nature and they could have been handled at the district level, creating an unnecessary bottleneck on the original side and constricting the smooth passage of cases---Establishment of commercial courts, similar to those established in Punjab by the Lahore High Court, can provide a solution to this problem, especially given Karachi's status as a center of commerce and the economic engine of the country---Provincial Government was directed to consider taking remedial action, including tabling an amendment to S. 7 and related provisions of the Sindh Civil Courts Ordinance, 1962 (the 'Ordinance')---Amendment can either eliminate the exception to the jurisdiction of the District Judge in Karachi district or limit it to encompass only those civil suits and proceedings that fall above the prescribed pecuniary threshold and involve commercial disputes.
Province of Sindh v. Haji Razzaq and others PLD 2017 SC 207 and Searle IV Solution (Pvt.) Ltd. v. Federation of Pakistan 2018 SCMR 1444 rel.