Centre Suggests 12 special courts for Disposing Cases against MPs, MLAs

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Centre Suggests 12 special courts for Disposing Cases against MPs, MLAs
Centre Suggests 12 special courts for Disposing Cases against MPs, MLAs

The Centre has proposed to the Supreme Court that it will set up 12 special courts to try the reported 1500+ criminal cases that are pending against legislators across the country.

Of the “1,581 cases”, the government however said that it did not known how many have been so far decided and also if fresh cases have been filed against an MP or an MLA between the years 2014 to 2017.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay also a Delhi BJP leader, which is seeking a lifelong ban on politicians who have been convicted from contesting elections.

Proposal Suggests Court Will Operate For One Year

The Supreme Court had asked the government in November this year to develop a scheme for setting up special courts for trying criminal cases filed against legislators.

The apex court had issue a directive in 2014 that all cases against people’s representatives should be resolved within a year.

In a subsequent affidavit filed with the court, the law ministry said that 12 special courts could be set up with a one-year budget of Rs 7.80 crore to dispose of the cases involving “political persons”.

This would include two special courts and one each in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal

The affidavit further noted that the special courts set up under a central scheme for a period of one year would work on the same lines as the fast track court set up by it for a period of five years. It stated that the target would be the disposal of the supposedly pending 1,581 cases involving MLAs/MPs within a span of a year, as directed by the Supreme Court

The Centre indicated that Rs 65 lakh would be needed to set up each court, which would add up to a total of Rs 7.8 crore.

According to the ministry the number of courts had been calculated using the 11th Finance Commission analysis that found that each court can handle 165 cases per annum.  In states with less than 65 cases, all cases will be sent to the existing fast track courts, the proposal said.

Government Says It Has Not Data On Cases Against Legislators

In the November hearing, the apex court had asked how many of the pending cases against MPs/MLAs as available in the nomination papers made available in the 2014 elections had been disposed of within a year , and how many had acquitted or convicted and also details of any further criminal cases filed against legislators after 2014.

The Centre responded  stating that there was no agency in the government which was collecting such data so it wasn’t available. Even the Election Commission had “expressed its inability” to provide this data.

The EC had said that the figure had been taken by the petitioner from a report that had been compiled by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).  Subsequently, ADR clarified that “the present figure is 1,571 not 1,581” as a result of “death/ resignation/ vacant seats etc.”

Even ADR did not have access to data with regards to the courts in which these cases were pending according to the government.

Government In Touch With Authorities To Access Data

The Centre said it had contacted the states , and also written to a number of officials including secretaries of state legislatures, the chief secretaries, secretary general of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha , for the information. The government is also said to be in contact with the different high courts as well, the affidavit said.

The apex court is expected to consider the government’s proposal at the next hearing on the matter which is on December 14.

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