Supreme Court of Pakistan has enforced the new Supreme Court Rules 2025, replacing the 1980 rules through a gazette notification.
Under the new rules, pending cases will continue under the previous regulations, while several measures have been introduced to promote digitization and transparency.
A new court fee chart has been issued, setting the fee for CPLA, civil appeals, and constitutional petitions at Rs2,500.
The fee for civil review will be Rs1,250, for security challan Rs50,000, intra-court appeal Rs5,000, power of attorney and concise statement Rs500, affidavit Rs500, and other applications Rs100.
The period for filing criminal appeals has been extended from 30 to 60 days, while direct civil appeals can also be filed within 60 days. Objections by the registrar's office must be appealed within 14 days.
The time limit for filing a review petition against Supreme Court decisions will be 30 days, with petitioners required to notify the opposing party immediately and attach a certified copy of the judgment or order.
The rules mandate certified documents and affidavits for new evidence-based petitions. Lawyers or parties filing review petitions must briefly state the grounds. Frivolous or vexatious petitions may result in costs up to Rs 25,000.
Review petitions will generally be heard by the same bench that issued the decision, unless a judge has retired or resigned, in which case remaining bench members will hear the case. No court fee will be charged for jail petitions.
The rules were prepared by a committee headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, with members Justice Irfan Saadat, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, on the directions of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi. The committee sought suggestions from judges, the Supreme Court office, bar councils, and associations.
