4,122 criminal cases pending against MPs
India's SC to form special courts to complete trials within a year
A total of 4,122 criminal cases are pending against the present and former members of parliament and state legislatures across India, the Supreme Court was informed yesterday.
The information was given by the amicus curiae (friend of the court) in an affidavit to the apex court which is considering setting up of special fast track courts to complete the trials of politicians within one year.
Acting on a public interest litigation which seeks expeditious trial of criminal cases against elected representatives, the top court had sought detailed data on the criminal cases against present and former lawmakers and legislators in various courts in order to facilitate the setting up of adequate number of special courts for expediting trials in these cases.
The SC has asked each high court to designate as many sessions and magistrate courts in the concerned states to try pending criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs.
The data given in the affidavit said trials are pending for nearly three decades and charges have not been framed.
The northern state of Uttar Pradesh tops the list of the number of pending cases (992) against former and present legislators followed by Nagaland (331), Tamil Nadu (321), Kerala (312) and Bihar (304) among others.