Satya prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 10
Shocked by a criminal case against a Punjab politician pending for 36 years, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the state government to explain why it had been pending fire for so long.
“Why is a 36-year life sentence pending?” asks a bench of three judges chaired by judge NV that Ramana asked during a hearing of a PIL against the criminalization of politics.
As the Court took note of an affidavit submitted by Lead Counsel and Amicus Curiae Vijay Hansaria, Judge Ramana asked which was the oldest pending case.
“The oldest case is from 1983. It is from Punjab,” Hansaria said.
“This is shocking! Who is the Punjab state attorney? No one is visible, ”the bank said.
When a defender appeared on screen, the Court tried to find out why a life sentence case was pending for 36 years.
“Are you not responsible for prosecuting criminal cases?” Judge Ramana wondered.
“Yes we are, I will seek information and submit a report,” said the lawyer.
Up to 35 MPs and former MPs and members of the judiciary in Punjab are facing criminal cases, Hansaria said in an affidavit filed in court.
“There are 35 cases (in Punjab), of which in 21 cases the MP / MLA in office are charged,” he said.
The list included one case, each one involving murder and drugs, the affidavit said, adding that the Supreme Court had suspended proceedings in these cases.
One of the cases related to a 1983 incident was punishable by life imprisonment in which charges were filed in 2019 after 36 years, he claimed.
Haryana has a total of 42 legislators, 11 incumbents and 31 former MPs and members of the judiciary, facing criminal cases, while the number was 48 in Himachal Pradesh, where 35 of them were MPs / MPs in office.
The three Union Territories in the northern region: Chandigarh (1 MP), Jammu and Kashmir (1 MP) and Ladakh (6 former MLA) also featured on the list.
The Court asked the Center to respond within six weeks to an amended petition from the petitioner seeking to exclude convicted politicians from participating in elections and holding positions in the party after leading defender Vikas Singh noted that the court had said it will decide this issue of disqualification for life in the end.
In total, there were 4,442 pending cases against MP / MLA (current and former) in different courts, including the Special Courts established for MP and MLA, he said.
“In 2,556 cases, the legislators in office are accused persons. The number of legislators involved is greater than the total number of cases, since there is more than one defendant in a case and the same legislator is a defendant in more than one case. There are 413 cases for crimes punishable by life imprisonment, of which 174 cases are charged with deputies / deputies in office ”, says the affidavit.
In 2015, the Supreme Court had ordered the trial in the cases against the former legislators will take place on a daily basis and will conclude in one year from the date the charges were filed.
