Someone owes you money. Maybe for goods you sold on a written order. Maybe under a signed agreement. The amount is small, say Rs 80,000. A normal civil suit can drag on for years. There is a court meant for exactly this kind of case. It is the small claims court.
What is a small claims court in Pakistan?
The Small Claims and Minor Offences Courts Ordinance 2002 created it. That is Ordinance XXVI of 2002, available in the official Pakistan Code. It was promulgated on 19 June 2002 and came into force on 15 July 2004.
The provincial government, in consultation with the High Court, may set up one or more of these courts in each district. The judge is a Civil Judge cum Judicial Magistrate.
The idea is simple. Small disputes, decided fast, at low cost
What suits can you file?
The court has exclusive jurisdiction over the suits listed in Part I of the Schedule to the Ordinance, where the value does not exceed Rs 100,000. Those suits include:
- money due on a contract in writing, a receipt, or another document;
- damages for breach of a written contract;
- specific performance or rescission of a written contract;
- recovery of movable property or its value;
- partition of joint immovable property;
- compensation, including damages from traffic accidents;
- redemption of mortgaged property;
- enforcement of easement rights;
- rendition of accounts of joint property;
- restraining waste and removing nuisance;
- mesne profits, and damages for wrongful taking or damage to property.
For these suits at this value, the small claims court is the forum. If your claim is above Rs 100,000, the regular civil court process in Pakistan applies instead.
What is the money limit?
Rs 100,000. Section 5 of the Ordinance fixes the value of the subject matter at no more than one hundred thousand rupees.
Both conditions must hold: the suit type must be in Part I of the Schedule and the value within the limit.
Minor offences come here too
The same court tries offences. Part II of the Schedule covers all offences in the Pakistan Penal Code that are punishable with imprisonment up to three years, or with fine, or with both. Minor hurt and small scale mischief are examples.
In criminal matters the court works as a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class and follows the Criminal Procedure Code 1898 and the Qanun e Shahadat 1984.
How fast is the process?
The law sets tight time limits:
- the court sends summons within 2 days of the plaint;
- summons must be served within 15 days;
- the defendant files the written statement on the first date fixed, with at most 15 days of extra time;
- if the claim is not settled, evidence starts after 45 days from the reference to a Salis;
- the trial must conclude within 60 days with day to day hearings, and at worst within the next 30 days;
- arguments are heard within 7 days after evidence, and judgment is pronounced within 3 days.
Judgment copies go to the parties the same day, or by registered post if a party is absent.
What does it cost?
Filing is cheap. The plaint is verified on oath and carries a one time process fee of Rs 25 for serving summons, plus postal stamps.
Court fee on the plaint is separate, under the Court Fees Act 1870. In Punjab the plaint fee for a money suit is 7.5% of the claim, capped at Rs 15,000. A Rs 100,000 claim therefore attracts Rs 7,500 in court fee. Our guide to court fees in Pakistan breaks this down.
If the court finds a claim or defence false or vexatious, it can order costs of up to one tenth of the claim value.
Settlement comes first
The court pushes both sides to settle before trial. It may refer the dispute to a Salis, meaning a conciliator, mediator, or arbitrator. The parties can nominate their own person for the role, and retired judges and lawyers can act as Salis.
If both sides settle, the court records the compromise and passes a decree. Settlement talks are confidential. Nothing said there can be used later in court.
Appeals
Civil: appeal to the District Judge within 30 days of the decree. No second appeal, and no appeal against a consent decree.
Criminal: appeal to the Sessions Court within 30 days of conviction.
The honest picture
The law is on the books, but the courts are not everywhere, and the numbers are small.
In 2023, 219 suits were filed and 274 decided, with 183 pending at year end. In 2024, 162 were filed and 175 decided, with 167 pending. These figures come from the Law and Justice Commission's Judicial Statistics of Pakistan 2024 and 2023.
Before you assume a small claims court exists in your district, check with the district court office or a lawyer. If none has been set up, the ordinary civil court hears your suit.
How to file, step by step
- Check the value and the type. The suit must be in Part I of the Schedule and worth no more than Rs 100,000.
- Draft a plaint verified on oath, with all material facts and a schedule of witnesses with their names, addresses and what each will say.
- Attach the documents you rely on, in original or copy. List any document you do not hold.
- Pay the process fee of Rs 25 and the court fee stamp.
- File the plaint with enough copies for every defendant.
- Attend every hearing. Evidence is oral and in open court. The trial should finish within 60 days.
- If you win, execution is part of the same suit. No separate execution application is needed.
For land, a house or a plot, the dispute usually crosses this court's limit. Our guide on property disputes in Pakistan covers the bigger path and the time limits.
For a fake online store refund, see the refund guide in Pakistan.
Some fines are fought without any plaint, like a wrong traffic e-challan. See our guide on traffic challan disputes in Pakistan.
Before any of these routes, consider mediation. A neutral helps both sides talk, and a settlement becomes a decree. Our guide to lok adalat in Pakistan explains how it works.
Small claims are one route to get your money back. For a faulty product or a bad service, a consumer court complaint in Pakistan works too. For the full picture, see recovering money from someone in Pakistan and filing a civil case. More guides live on the Lexiber blog, and the home page is lexiber.com.
Ask Lexiber free in English or Urdu. It shows you the exact section behind every answer.
