On Thursday, the Supreme Court noted that the government should consider increasing the number of special courts set up to exclusively try criminal cases against former deputies and members of Parliament (MP) and members of Legislative Assemblies (MLA). There are currently 12 courts of this type constituted by the central government.
The observation came from a bench of NV Ramana, Surya Kant and Roy Hrishikesh judges as they listened to a PIL presented by BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking a speedy trial against MPs / MLAs facing criminal charges and excluding for life tainted legislators.
It was on December 14, 2017, the Central Government created 12 special courts. Consequently, the higher courts were ordered to transfer cases against parliamentarians and paralegals to those special courts. States / UTs where there are 65 or more such cases pending were required to obtain a special court, according to the policy introduced by the Center.
As a result, special courts were established in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, and three magisterial-level special courts in Maharashtra, Kerala and Delhi.
The court commented: “The government of India had considered establishing 12 courts. Why can’t you consider increasing this number? Now that you (Hansaria) have the figures by district, please suggest to us how many more courts are needed. We will consider it on Wednesday. ”The court ordered all higher courts to provide district details of pending cases against MPs / MLA (including corruption cases) by Sunday.
The Court was informed that there are currently a total of 4,442 criminal cases pending against practicing legislators and former legislators in various courts of the country. These data were collected by various higher courts and sent to the court-appointed chief amicus curiae advocate, Vijay Hansaria, who then compiled them in report form and submitted them to the Court.
Hansaria stated in his report that 2,556 cases out of 4,442 are related to sitting deputies and members of the judiciary whose trial is pending in various stages. There are 413 cases related to crimes punishable by life imprisonment, of which in 174 cases are accused deputies or allies in office. Other cases involve crimes under the Prevention of Corruption Law (PC), the Prevention of Money Laundering Law (PMLA), the Arms Law; Public Property Damage Prevention Act, defamation (under Section 500 IPC), cheating (under Section 420 IPC) and willful disobedience / obstruction of orders issued by a public servant (under Section 188 IPC).
Emphasizing the apathy of the trial in cases involving the high and powerful, Hansaria said: “A large number of cases are pending at the arraignment stage and even no arrest warrants (NBW) issued by the courts have been executed. . In many cases, charges have not even been filed, including those punishable by life imprisonment. “
He cited a case from Punjab where a trial court brought charges in a 1983 murder case against a former civil rights player after a 36-year lapse in 2019. Although Hansaria did not reveal the former legislator’s name, records revealed that the case was related to the former Shiromani. Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha, accused of murdering a renowned doctor from the city of Patti in Tarn Tarn.
Similarly, Hansaria read a case from West Bengal where, in a 1981 case, the charges are not yet framed. West Bengal has a special court in Barasat to exclusively try cases against MPs / members of the judiciary. In this court, 131 cases are pending and, in most cases, the charges have not yet been filed. “In many cases comments have been made like ‘ER from WA’, that is, required execution of the arrest warrant,” Hansaria told the Court. He also read similar cases from Uttar Pradesh where two criminal cases in Lucknow, dating from 1991 and 1993, are in the “Appearance” stage, indicating that the trial has not yet started, Hansaria added.
The bank commented: “It is shocking that cases as old as 1983 are still in the charging stage. These are latches of the prosecution. “Hansaria replied:” The police do not arrest the accused because they are influential people. “Furthermore, the amicus noted that the special courts set up to try cases against parliamentarians and judicial deputies are not enough.
Defender Sneha Kalita, who assisted Hansaria, told HT: “There is a special court in each of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal. This is a delay factor in the trial as an investigating officer, witnesses have to travel great distances to attend the trial. Increasing the special courts in these states can speed up the trial. “
Another cause for concern was the suspension of the trial ordered by higher courts. Hansaria suggested that the higher courts and the Supreme Court have suspended the trial in 352 cases for an indefinite period. The court said it will consider this amicus suggestion at the next hearing date.
According to data compiled by Hansaria, among the states with the highest number of pending criminal trials against MPs / MLAs, Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 1,217 of which 446 cases relate to sitting legislators. Next comes Bihar with 531 cases, closely followed by Kerala (333 cases), Odisha (331 cases) and Maharashtra (330 cases). Kerala has another dubious record, as in more than 100 cases dating back to incidents in 2012 and 2013, charges have yet to be brought, according to the report.
In Delhi, 87 sitting lawmakers and 31 former lawmakers are currently facing trial. Hansaria said: “The number of legislators involved is greater than the total number of cases, as there is more than one defendant in a case and the same legislator is a defendant in more than one case. Furthermore, some of these cases have been transferred from different states to Delhi and belong to legislators from other states ”.
Nagaland and Sikkim State and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Union Territories have no pending criminal cases against legislators.
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