4,192 cases pending against MPs, MLAs; 14 out of 28 chief ministers face serious criminal charges: Supreme Court told

The Supreme Court was told that there are more than 4,000 cases pending against MPs and MLAs across the country while 14 out of 28 chief ministers of Indian states have serious criminal charges against them. This fact came to light in a report submitted to the apex court by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who is the amicus curiae in a public-interest ligitation (PIL) which is seeking expeditious disposal of criminal cases against Indian lawmakers.

The report says that around 251 of the 543 members of the Lok Sabha, and 75 of the 233 members of the Rajya Sabha have criminal cases against them.

The PIL was filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

It revealed that around 4,192 cases are pending against sitting MPs and MLAs, and out of them, 519 cases have been pending for more than a decade.

Around 700 cases are pending probe while 260 have continue to be in this stage for above three years. Chargesheets have yet to be filed in these cases.

Which states’ MPs/MLAs have highest number of cases?

The affidavit submitted to the apex court has revealed that 95% of the MPs from Kerala face charges, which is the highest in the country, as per a report by The New Indian Express.

Kerala is followed by Telangana with 82% of its MPs facing serious charges. Then come Odisha with 76%.

Haryana and Chattisgarh are the two states that have come out with the lowest tallies, with both having a single MP each with charges against them.

When it comes to percentage of MLAs facing serious cases, West Bengal leads with 58% while Kerala is a near second with 57%. Next in line are Andhra Pradesh (56%), Telangana (49%), and Odisha (45%), The Times of India reported.

Which CMs have the most number of charges against them?

The report reveals that Telangana CM Revanth Reddy has the highest number of charges against him, 89. Next in line is West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari. He has 29 pending cases against him.

Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu both have 19 cases each, while Kerala’s V D Sathesan has 18 cases pending against him.

Following these revelations in the court, the amicus has pleaded with the apex court to designate special courts which will expeditiously hold trial in these cases against both sitting and former lawmakers. He has also asked the Supreme Court to direct the jurisdictional High Courts in these cases to actively monitor the progress being made in these trials.