HC grants time for filing status report on pending criminal cases against MPs, MLAs

The Delhi High Court Friday granted time to its administrative side to file a status report on the number of criminal cases pending before it involving sitting or former MPs and MLAs. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Subramonium Prasad was informed by the counsel representing the administrative side of the high court that he has filed a status report of cases pending in district courts till June against MPs and MLAs. The bench granted four weeks to file the report and listed the matter for further hearing on September 8. The bench had earlier directed that a list of cases pending before the high court that involves sitting or former MPs and MLAs be filed before it. It had asked the counsel for the high court's administrative side to continue filing the monthly status report which shall also include the status of the pending cases. During the hearing, Delhi Police counsel informed the bench that in pursuance of its April 20 order, the agency has filed a status report reporting the appointment of DCP (Legal division) as nodal officer to assist the court in the matter. On April 20, the high court directed “the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to nominate an officer of the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police, who shall act as a Nodal Officer and shall appear before this court on each date of hearing so as to furnish requisite information, as and when required, of the cases pending against the sitting and former MPs/ MLAs before this court as also before the trial court(s)”. The High Court was hearing a plea initiated by it on the direction of the Supreme Court to all the high courts to monitor pending criminal cases against MPs and MLAs. The high court had appointed senior advocate Sandeep Sethi as an amicus curiae to assist in the matter and to suggest further measures that may be taken by this court, not only to ensure compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court but also to achieve its objective of ensuring expeditious disposal of the cases against sitting and former MPs/MLAs. The Supreme Court, on September 16, 2020, had asked the chief justices of all high courts to forthwith list before an appropriate bench all pending criminal cases involving sitting and former lawmakers where the stay was granted. The direction had come on a petition which was filed in 2016 raising the issue of inordinately delay in disposal of criminal cases against former and sitting lawmakers.

The apex court had issued the direction after observing that there has been “no substantial improvement” in the disposal of pending criminal cases against sitting and former lawmakers. It directed the high courts that “in the event that a stay is considered necessary, the court should hear the matter on a day-­to-­day basis and dispose of the same expeditiously, preferably within a period of two months, without any unnecessary adjournment.'' “It goes without saying that the COVID-­19 condition should not be an impediment to the compliance of this direction, as these matters could be conveniently heard through video conferencing,” the apex court also said. Referring to a report placed before it in the matter, the top court had said that it indicated that about 175 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and 14 cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 are pending against sitting or former lawmakers. “These are in addition to the 4,442 criminal cases indicated to be pending as per the earlier report of the amicus dated September 8, 2020,” the Supreme Court had noted. “With respect to increasing the number of special courts and rationalising the pending criminal cases, we deem it appropriate that, before passing any specific direction in respect thereto, it would be appropriate to direct the chief justice of each high court to formulate and submit an action plan for rationalisation of the number of special courts necessary,” it had added. It had said that the aspects to be considered, while making the action plan, were -- the total number of pending cases in each district, the required number of proportionate special courts, the number of courts that are currently available, the number of judges, and the subject categories of the cases, tenure of the judges to be designated, number of cases to be assigned to each judge, expected time for disposal of the cases, the distance of the courts to be designated and adequacy of infrastructure. The top had also said that while preparing the action plan the chief justices of the high courts should also consider whether it would be necessary and appropriate to transfer cases where the trial is going expeditiously. “The chief justices of the high courts shall also designate a special bench, comprising themselves and their designate, in order to monitor the progress of these trials,” it had said. “We further request the chief justices of all the high courts to list forthwith all pending criminal cases involving sitting/former legislators (MPs and MLAs), particularly those wherein a stay has been granted, before an appropriate bench(es) comprising of the chief justice and/or their designates,” it had also said.