Says ₹78 crore allocated for setting up special courts to try them in 11 States
Says ₹78 crore allocated for setting up special courts to try them in 11 States
The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that 1,765 members of Parliament and the Assemblies have criminal cases against them.
Of a total 3,816 cases against them, 3,045 are still pending.
Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 248 legislators, Tamil Nadu comes second with 178 and then Bihar follows with 144.
Exclusive courts
The affidavit by the Centre is its first response after the Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in November 2017, directed the setting up of special courts to try legislators exclusively within a year.
The Centre has undertaken to set up 12 such courts.
The affidavit said that of the ₹78 crore allocated for setting up the courts in 11 States, ₹65.04 lakh was released in 2017.
The balance will be released during 2018-19. Tamil Nadu has been allotted ₹65 lakh for a year.
Ruling in 125 cases
Compiling information received mostly from the High Courts, the Centre said 125 cases were decided against lawmakers in one year.
The Supreme Court had on November 1 directed the Centre to place before it details of cases involving MPs and MLAs, as declared by the politicians at the time of filing their nominations during the 2014 general elections.
The apex court had directed the government to frame a central scheme for setting up special courts across the country to exclusively try criminal cases involving “political persons”.
The court is hearing a PIL plea filed by Supreme Court advocate Ashwini Upadhyay who has sought a lifetime ban on convicted politicians to cleanse politics of criminality and corruption.
The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that 1,765 members of Parliament and the Assemblies have criminal cases against them.
Of a total 3,816 cases against them, 3,045 are still pending.
Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 248 legislators, Tamil Nadu comes second with 178 and then Bihar follows with 144.
Exclusive courts
The affidavit by the Centre is its first response after the Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in November 2017, directed the setting up of special courts to try legislators exclusively within a year.
The Centre has undertaken to set up 12 such courts.
The affidavit said that of the ₹78 crore allocated for setting up the courts in 11 States, ₹65.04 lakh was released in 2017.
The balance will be released during 2018-19. Tamil Nadu has been allotted ₹65 lakh for a year.
Ruling in 125 cases
Compiling information received mostly from the High Courts, the Centre said 125 cases were decided against lawmakers in one year.
The Supreme Court had on November 1 directed the Centre to place before it details of cases involving MPs and MLAs, as declared by the politicians at the time of filing their nominations during the 2014 general elections.
The apex court had directed the government to frame a central scheme for setting up special courts across the country to exclusively try criminal cases involving “political persons”.
The court is hearing a PIL plea filed by Supreme Court advocate Ashwini Upadhyay who has sought a lifetime ban on convicted politicians to cleanse politics of criminality and corruption.