LAHORE: Courtrooms have been allotted to 12 judges in the Lahore High Court’s new 11-storey judicial building, and all the judges concerned have begun hearing cases in their new courts.
According to details, courtrooms for judges have been established on different floors of the new building, which was constructed to increase judicial capacity at the Lahore High Court. Following the allotment of courts in the new building, the judges have started hearing cases in their new courtrooms.
Four judges have been allotted courts on the ground floor of the new building. Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq, Justice Farooq Haider, Justice Sardar Ali Akbar Dogar and Justice Khurram Mehmood Sadiq will hear cases on the ground floor.
Four courts have also been established on the first floor, where Justice Muzamil Akhtar Shabbir, Justice Asim Hafeez, Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad and Justice Rasaal Hassan Syed have been allotted courtrooms.
On the second floor of the new building, the courts of Justice Javed Iqbal Wains, Justice Hassan Nawaz Makhdoom, Justice Khalid Ishaq and Justice Waqar Haider Awan have been established.
The transfer of judges to the new building has increased the space available for judicial business at the LHC. The establishment of courts in the new building is expected to help judges, lawyers and litigants take judicial proceedings forward in a more organised manner, while the distribution of courtrooms across multiple floors has created additional capacity for court work.
Phased shifting of further judicial and administrative activity to the new 11-storey building is likely to continue, and the commencement of hearings in the new courts is being described as an important development in the expansion of the judicial structure.
The Lahore High Court’s principal seat operates from a heritage complex on The Mall dating to the colonial period, which has been extended and adapted repeatedly as the strength of the court has grown. Space constraints have long affected the availability of courtrooms, chambers, filing branches and waiting areas for litigants, with proceedings in some matters historically conducted in chambers for want of a full courtroom.
The LHC also operates benches at Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur, but the principal seat carries the largest share of institution and disposal. Pendency at the high court, as across the judicial system in Pakistan, has remained a persistent concern, with physical infrastructure identified as one constraint among several alongside judicial strength, procedural delay and the availability of witnesses.
Court administration has not announced a timeline for the completion of the remaining phases of the shift.
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