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Business News›News›Politics›326 MPs, 14 CMs have criminal cases against them: Supreme Court told

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326 MPs, 14 CMs have criminal cases against them: Supreme Court told

Synopsis

A Supreme Court report indicates 251 Lok Sabha and 75 Rajya Sabha members face criminal charges. Over 4,000 criminal cases are pending against current and former MPs and MLAs. Chief ministers of 14 states have declared criminal cases, some serious in nature. Special courts will now exclusively try cases against lawmakers for faster disposal. High courts will monitor trial progress monthly to ensure timely conclusion.

PTI

New Delhi: A report on criminalisation of politics submitted in the Supreme Court has stated that 251 members out of 543 in the Lok Sabha and 75 lawmakers out of 233 in the Rajya Sabha have criminal cases against them.



The affidavit filed in the apex court by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who has been appointed amicus curiae in a PIL seeking expeditious disposal of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs, said that there are over 4,000 criminal cases against Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).



The affidavit stated that the chief ministers of 14 states, out of 28, have declared criminal cases, including serious ones.

According to the data, Telangana CM Anumula Revanth Reddy has 89 cases against him, followed by West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari, who has 29 cases, and Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar, who has 19 cases.



Hansaria submitted that despite monitoring of cases by the top court and high courts to ensure expeditious trials, the number of pending criminal cases against MPs and MLAs since 2018 has remained almost at the same level.




Collating data from various high courts, the amicus informed the apex court that 1,243 criminal cases were decided in 2025, while 1,050 new cases were registered in that year.

He told the court that the total number of cases pending against former and current MP/MLAs is 4,192.

"In the Lok Sabha, out of 543 members, 251 members have criminal cases against them, of which 170 cases are serious criminal cases (punishable with five years of imprisonment or more).



"In the Rajya Sabha, out of 233 members, 75 (33 per cent) members have criminal cases against them, of which 40 (18 per cent) cases are serious criminal cases (punishable with five years of imprisonment or more)," the affidavit said while referring to a report published by the Association for Democratic Reforms.



The senior lawyer also filed an analysis of reports filed by various high courts, except Uttar Pradesh since no report was received from the Allahabad High Court.



According to the affidavit, filed through advocate Senha Kalita, 19 out of 20 MPs (95 per cent) from Kerala faced criminal charges, and 11 of them faced serious cases.



Of the 17 MPs from Telangana, 14 faced criminal charges (82 per cent), Odisha 76 per cent (16 of 21), Jharkhand 71 per cent (10 of 14), Tamil Nadu 67 per cent (26 of 39), around 50 per cent of MPs from other major states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh – faced criminal cases.



Haryana (10 MPs) and Chhattisgarh (11 MPs) have just one MP each facing criminal charges; Punjab has two out of 13, Assam has three out of 14, Delhi has three out of seven, Rajasthan has four out of 25, Gujarat has five out of 25 and Madhya Pradesh has nine out of 29 MPs with criminal charges.



Asserting that the criminal cases against MP/MLAs need to be monitored by the top court for their expeditious disposal, the amicus has sought directions that the courts designated as Special Court MP/ MLA will exclusively conduct trials against MPs/ MLAs; and only when the trials of these cases are concluded, other cases would be taken up.



"The Principal District and Session Judges of all the districts will allocate regular court work to the Special Court MP/ MLA only when the trial of cases against MPs/MLAs are concluded.



"The High Courts shall monitor the progress of a trial on a monthly basis on the judicial side in the suo motu Writ Petition, and ensure that all the cases pending are concluded expeditiously and not later than one year of the framing of charge," the amicus said.



The senior lawyer also requested that the high courts shall micro-monitor the cases and pass effective orders in each case, wherever such cases are pending for more than three years.



Hansaria is assisting the court in the PIL filed by Ashwini Upadhyay for speedy disposal of cases against the lawmakers.



On November 9, 2023, in a significant verdict aimed at fast-tracking trials in more than 5,000 criminal cases against lawmakers, the top court had directed high courts to set up a special bench to monitor cases for their speedy disposal.



It had also asked special courts not to adjourn proceedings in such matters except "for rare and compelling reasons."



Issuing a slew of directions to high courts, district judges, and special courts designated to hear matters related to lawmakers, the top court had directed that criminal cases against members of Parliament, legislative assemblies and legislative councils be given priority.

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