ISLAMABAD  -  The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has set up four specialized benches to exclusively hear financial and commercial cases, in a move aimed at ensuring speedy adjudication of such matters.

According to a notification issued by the IHC additional registrar (judicial), a bench comprising Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan has been designated to deal exclusively with cases falling under the “Commercial Litigation Corridor” (CLC).

The notification stated that the CLC bench would adjudicate references filed under the Income Tax Ordinance, Sales Tax Act, Federal Excise Act and Customs Act. 

Sources revealed that the two judges will not hold single-member benches until the backlog of nearly 2,000 CLC cases is cleared. In the interim, petitions on their individual rosters will be heard by other available benches. The decision was taken by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar under the IHC Practice and Procedure Rules 2025 (Volume-V). It also aligns with directives issued by the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) during its 53rd meeting on July 11 this year.

According to the notification, a specialized company bench comprising Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz will hear matters under Section 5(4) of the Companies Act 2017, as well as cases under Section 8(B) of the Corporate Restructuring Companies (Amendment) Act 2021, and the SECP Act 1997. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir has been designated as a single-judge bench to hear cases relating to educational institutions, including medical colleges.

In addition, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz will take up cases under the Financial Institution (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance 2001, exercising the court’s original civil jurisdiction, as well as civil suits under the Privatisation Commission (Amendment) Act 2020. This order supersedes Office Order No. F. (126)GenI/IHC/152 dated July 18, 2025. The four notifications (Nos 32, 33, 34 and 35 dated Aug 13, 2025) will be published in Part-III of the Gazette of Pakistan and circulated among relevant stakeholders, including bar councils, government departments and registrars.