Official statistics have shown that almost half of the hearings scheduled by the Criminal Court last year were canceled.
The statistics publicized by the court show 9,973 hearings were scheduled in 2021, out of which 4,852 hearings were canceled. This is 49 percent of the total hearings.
As per the numbers, 1,732 cases were pending at the court at the beginning of 2021. While 773 new cases were submitted at the court, 701 cases were concluded last year. When this year began, 1,804 remained pending at the court.
Last year, the court issued 405 search warrants and 399 arrest warrants. An additional 112 travel ban orders were also issued.
Several hearings were held online via video and audio conference last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some reasons for the high number of canceled hearings were technical difficulties and lawyers being quarantined. There were also difficulties in using the conference room at the jail for the online hearings and range issues.
Complaints of cases being dragged on for months and years are not new for the Criminal Court. However, some cases are concluded very quickly.
