The federal government is considering increasing the number of judges in the Supreme Court, and in this regard, a government member, Daniyal Chaudhry, has prepared a private member’s bill.

Sources told Aaj News that the government has decided to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court from 19 to 23.

The intended bill is likely to be presented in the upcoming Private Members’ Day. They added that the number of judges would be increased through an amendment to the 1997 Act.

Last month, Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath to former justices Sardar Tariq Masood and Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel as ad hoc judges of the Supreme Court.

The addition brought the total strength of judges at the apex court from 17 to 19.

According to the draft bill, a proposal has been made to amend Section 2 of the 1997 Act to increase the number of SC judges. The proposal suggests that the SC would have a total of 22 judges, in addition to the chief justice of Pakistan.

The objectives of the proposed bill state that the increase in the number of top court judges would result in a “faster legal process, timely hearings, and judgments.”

Sources added that the government had taken the decision to address the growing need for specialized expertise in areas such as cybercrime, environmental laws, and international trade.

The text states that increasing the number of judges can reduce the excessive workload on individual judges and lead to more diverse rulings. Many countries with judicial systems similar to Pakistan’s, such as the parliamentary system, already have a larger number of judges, and the proposed increase in Pakistan is expected to align the country’s judicial decisions with international standards.

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The bill was on the agenda for Tuesday, but could not be presented due to a lack of quorum in the National Assembly. In July, the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice had reached an agreement among political parties to increase the number of SC judges.

The committee had also sought details from the SC registrar on pending cases and from the Ministry of Law on vacant positions in the high courts. Senate committee chairman Farooq H Naek stated that the matter of increasing the number of apex court judges would be finalised once the details were provided by the Ministry of Law and Justice.