Supreme Court: civil cases should be decided on merit, not hastily dismissed
The Supreme Court has issued a written judgment restoring two civil revision petitions that the Lahore High Court dismissed when a lawyer did not appear. It said civil cases should ordinarily be decided on merit rather than on technical grounds.
- Supreme Court restored two civil revision petitions dismissed by the Lahore High Court.
- Restoration is conditional on Rs10,000 in each case, Rs20,000 in total.
- Judgment says litigants and lawyers both have duties in following a case.
The Supreme Court has issued a written judgment, authored by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, saying civil cases should ordinarily be decided on merit rather than dismissed on technical grounds. The case concerned the restoration of a suit dismissed for non-prosecution.
A three-member bench of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan allowed two civil petitions filed by Safdar Ali Butt. They challenged Lahore High Court orders that refused to restore his civil revision petitions, which had been pending since 2016.
According to The Express Tribune, the Lahore High Court dismissed the civil revisions on February 2, 2026, after the petitioner's counsel did not appear. Restoration applications were filed the next day.
The petitioner's counsel told the court that the lawyer, Shahid Azeem Bajwa, had coronavirus and stayed outside the courtroom. The counsel said he rushed in when the cases were called but could not reach the bench because of heavy congestion. The opposing counsel did not deny this explanation, and no earlier record showed the lawyer was negligent or responsible for the long pendency.
The judgment says a case dismissed for non-prosecution can be restored if there is reasonable cause and the interests of justice require it. According to Express News, the court said: "The scales of justice do not tilt automatically in favour of dismissing a case, nor automatically in favour of restoring it." The report attributes this to the Supreme Court; it is a translation from Urdu.
The court also said petitioners must remain vigilant and follow their cases regularly instead of leaving everything to the lawyer. Lawyers must keep accurate records of hearing dates, cause lists and benches, and inform clients about progress, risks and settlement offers. Dismissal through a lawyer's negligence without valid reason can lead to complaints before bar councils.
The court set aside the Lahore High Court orders and restored both revisions to their original status, on payment of Rs10,000 in each case. The petitioner must deposit Rs20,000 with the Lahore High Court Bar Association's Medical Centre and present the receipts to the Lahore High Court registrar.
Why it matters for Pakistan
Civil litigants across Pakistan often wait years for outcomes, and these two revisions had been pending since 2016. The judgment tells petitioners they must follow their cases regularly and not rely wholly on their lawyers. It also sets out record-keeping and client-information duties for lawyers, with bar council complaints possible for unexplained negligence. In this case the petitioner must pay Rs20,000 to the Lahore High Court Bar Association's Medical Centre for restoration.
