'4984 cases pending against MPs, MLAs of which 1899 cases more than 5 yrs old'

New Delhi: A total of 4,984 cases are pending against Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly/Council out of which 1899 cases are more than five years old, the Supreme Court was told on Thursday. In his latest report, senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, appointed as amicus curiae, told the top court that it may be noted that the total number of cases pending as of December 2018 was 4110; and as of October 2020 were 4859.

Even after disposal of 2775 cases after December 4, 2018, the cases against MPs/MLAs have increased from 4122 to 4984. This shows that more and more persons with criminal antecedents are occupying the seats in the Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies. It is of utmost necessity that urgent and stringent steps are taken for expeditious disposal of pending criminal cases , said the report filed through advocate Sneha Kalita.

The top court has been passing a slew of directions time-to-time on the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay for ensuring expeditious trial of cases against lawmakers and speedy investigation by the CBI and other agencies.

Hansaria said that the status report filed by the HCs also shows that special courts are constituted in some of the states whereas, in others, the courts of the respective jurisdiction are conducting trials in terms of the directions passed from time to time. These jurisdictional courts conduct the trial of the cases against MPs/MLAs along with discharging other roster allocated to them.