NEW DELHI, Sept 25: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to urgently list a 2016 public interest litigation seeking measures for the speedy disposal of criminal cases pending against Members of Parliament and state legislators.
The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, sought an early hearing, saying immediate directions were required to accelerate trials involving lawmakers.
“This concerns expeditious trial of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs,” Hansaria told the bench, pointing to the significant number of legislators facing criminal proceedings. He also said the matter could be considered by a three-judge bench in accordance with an earlier direction of the court.
The Chief Justice agreed to the request and said the petition would be listed.
Justice V Mohana, who was earlier part of the proceedings, had recused herself from the case on August 18 after informing the court that she had previously appeared as a senior advocate in the matter.
The latest development comes against the backdrop of concerns over the prolonged pendency of criminal cases involving elected representatives. In his latest report on the criminalisation of politics, Hansaria said 251 of the 543 Lok Sabha members and 75 of the 233 Rajya Sabha members have declared criminal cases against them.
An affidavit submitted by Hansaria in the PIL also noted that more than 4,000 criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs are pending across the country. The document further stated that chief ministers in 14 of India’s 28 states have declared criminal cases against themselves, including cases classified as serious.
The figures cited in the affidavit include 89 cases declared by Telangana Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy, 29 by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and 19 by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
Hansaria has highlighted that the number of pending criminal proceedings against lawmakers has remained broadly unchanged since 2018 despite monitoring by the Supreme Court and various high courts. The continuing backlog has renewed the focus on the effectiveness of existing mechanisms for ensuring timely trials.
The Supreme Court has previously issued several directions aimed at preventing prolonged delays in such cases. In a significant order on November 9, 2023, the court directed high courts to establish special benches to monitor criminal proceedings involving lawmakers and ensure that trials move forward without unnecessary delays.
The court had also instructed special courts dealing with these cases not to grant adjournments except in rare and compelling circumstances.
The 2023 directions were issued in the context of more than 5,000 criminal cases pending against MPs, MLAs and members of legislative councils. The court had asked high courts, district judiciary and designated special courts to give priority to these proceedings.
The latest plea seeks renewed consideration of the issue in view of the continuing pendency. The proposed hearing could examine whether additional directions are required to improve monitoring and accelerate proceedings already before courts.
The matter also raises broader questions about the implementation of judicial directions at the state and district levels. While the Supreme Court and high courts have established mechanisms to track such cases, the data cited by the amicus indicates that a substantial number of proceedings continue to remain pending.
The court’s decision to list the PIL for urgent hearing is therefore expected to bring the issue back before the apex court and provide an opportunity to review the progress made since its earlier directions.
The forthcoming proceedings will focus on the steps that can be taken within the judicial system to ensure that criminal cases involving lawmakers are handled expeditiously while preserving the due process rights of all parties.