ABDUL SALAM KHAN vs BANK AL-HABIB LTD — 2025 PLD 1043 SUPREME-COURT

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ABDUL SALAM KHAN VS BANK AL-HABIB LTD. arts. 4, 9 & 10-a---auction of immoveable property by a bank, challenge to---Objections and appeal remaining pending for fourteen years---Protracted litigation---Delay in adjudication of cases rendering the remedy ineffective---Efficacy of relief---Scope---Sands of time may erode the potency of a relief and may render it ineffective---Validity of auction was upheld, however, Supreme Court underscored the importance of ensuring timely decisions in all cases to safeguard the right of access to justice---The primary issue in the present case was the petitioner's challenge to the auction of his immovable property, conducted by a bank in execution of a money decree in 2010---although the petitioner raised objections promptly in 2011, his appeal lingered on for ten years before the High Court and then another three years before it come up for determination by the Supreme Court---The legal question before the Supreme Court in the present matter was as to "whether any meaningful or effective relief could be granted to the petitioner in challenging the bank's auction of his immovable property, after the extraordinary lapse of fourteen years since the auction took place, given that the objections had already been dismissed by the lower courts and the matter had suffered prolonged delays at every judicial stage"?---In essence, the Supreme Court was called upon to decide "whether justice delayed to such an extent becomes justice denied (or extinguished), and whether the validity of the auction could still be disturbed after such protracted litigation"?---Held: after fourteen years since the auction and due notice, neither the petitioner nor any authorized representative had appeared before the Supreme Court to pursue the petition---In these circumstances, granting any further adjournment was both unwarranted and inconceivable---Supreme Court, nevertheless, had undertaken a careful examination of the petitioner's objections and the record of the case---The objections to the auction proceedings did not appear to be tenable, and no reason was found to deviate from the concurrent findings of the courts below---However, before parting with the judgment, the Supreme Court strongly emphasized the need to uphold the right to access to justice through the delivery of timely decisions---The Supreme Court noted that long delays in hearing and deciding cases made remedies meaningless and denied people their basic right to justice---It was pointed out that delays were not just due to heavy caseloads but were part of deeper structural problems in the system and to fix this, the Supreme Court highlighted the need for reforms such as better case management, tracking of old pending cases, and the use of technology like e-filing, automated scheduling, and even aI tools to make the process faster and more transparent---Referring to reforms in other countries, the Supreme Court emphasized that Pakistan's judiciary must also remodel the case management framework so that justice could be delivered both fairly and without unnecessary delay---In the present case, Supreme Court noted that even if the petitioner's claim had merit, the sands of time might have eroded its potency---Since the objections of the petitioner against the auction were found to be untenable, the present petition was dismissed on merits as well as for non-prosecution.

ABDUL SALAM KHAN vs BANK AL-HABIB LTD — 2025 PLD 1043 SUPREME-COURT

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