Unannounced Load-Shedding Disrupts Court Proceedings at Adiala Jail

RAWALPINDI: Unannounced power outages at Adiala Jail have disrupted judicial proceedings, preventing under-trial prisoners from being produced before courts via video link.

Due to the electricity breakdown, several scheduled hearings could not proceed as the accused were not made available for appearance through the video conferencing system. The cases were postponed as a result of their non-production.

Officials stated that the prisoners were to be presented in court through video link on the day of hearing, however the process could not be completed. Separate police deployment duties were also cited as a reason for the disruption in arrangements.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court resumed its proceedings after remaining closed for 12 days due to the closure of the Red Zone. The court last conducted hearings on April 16.

Under the austerity policy, judicial work is not conducted on Fridays, and over the past 12 days, hundreds of cases have been delayed, increasing the backlog significantly.

Due to the prolonged closure of the Red Zone, no hearings were held in the High Court last week. Several important cases were also affected, including applications for suspension of sentence in the £190 million case, which was scheduled for hearing on April 22 but was removed from the cause list.

Additionally, hearings on cases related to stopping tree cutting in Islamabad were also not held due to the court’s closure and suspension of judicial work, further adding to the pendency of cases.