ISLAMABAD: In yet another significant move aimed at addressing long-standing concerns over the transparency of case fixation, Secretary to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mushtaq Ahmed, announced on Wednesday that the Supreme Court is working to transfer the authority for scheduling cases to Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Speaking during a briefing alongside Supreme Court Registrar Sohail Leghari, Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed said the new system would schedule cases strictly in accordance with an established policy, effectively removing human discretion from the process.
“Human intervention in the scheduling of cases through AI will be eliminated,” he stated, noting that the initiative comes at a time when the fixation of cases has repeatedly come under public and legal scrutiny.
Highlighting the Court’s broader digitization drive, the Secretary said the Supreme Court currently offers 35 services, the majority of which are already available online, adding that efforts are underway to bring 12 additional services onto digital platforms.
On the issue of accountability, Mushtaq Ahmed revealed that the Supreme Court’s Complaints Cell had received a total of 50,830 complaints, of which only two were found to be directly linked to Supreme Court officers.
He clarified that the Court now takes action exclusively on complaints falling within its jurisdiction, and confirmed that disciplinary action had been taken against one Supreme Court officer following a corruption-related complaint.
He further noted that feedback from overseas Pakistanis has been notably positive, with the Supreme Court’s Overseas Cell receiving 1,063 complaints to date. Of these, 22 complaints pertained to the Supreme Court itself, and 14 have already been resolved.
Speaking separately, Registrar Sohail Leghari addressed the status of accountability-related litigation, stating that following the recent judgment concerning the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the Registrar’s Office is now in the process of creating distinct categories for such cases. He estimated that approximately 300 NAB-related cases are currently pending before the Supreme Court.
