SC judge recuses from hearing PIL on criminal cases against lawmakers

Supreme Court judge Justice V Mohana recused herself from a PIL on expediting criminal cases against lawmakers. An amicus curiae report highlighted that over 4,000 cases are pending against MPs/MLAs, with 14 of 28 Chief Ministers facing charges.

Justice V Mohana, a judge of the Supreme Court, on Tuesday recused herself from hearing a PIL seeking measures to ensure the expeditious disposal of criminal cases pending against Members of Parliament and state legislators.

The matter came up before a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. At the outset, the CJI noted that Justice Mohana had earlier appeared as a lawyer in the case. "My sister will recuse. We will list it before another bench," the CJI said.

Amicus Curiae Highlights Scale of Pending Cases

Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who is assisting the apex court as amicus curiae, urged that the matter be placed before a bench at the earliest, stressing the need for an urgent hearing. Hansaria's latest report on the criminalisation of politics has highlighted that 251 of the 543 Lok Sabha members and 75 of the 233 Rajya Sabha members have criminal cases pending against them.

An affidavit submitted by Hansaria in the 2016 PIL filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay stated that more than 4,000 criminal cases are pending against MPs and MLAs across the country. It further records that 14 of the 28 Chief Ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves, including cases involving serious offences. Among Chief Ministers, Telangana Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy has the highest number of declared cases at 89, followed by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari with 29 and Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar with 19.

Hansaria has pointed out that despite continued monitoring by the Supreme Court and various High Courts aimed at ensuring speedy trials, the number of pending criminal cases against lawmakers has remained largely unchanged since 2018.

Previous SC Directives on Speedy Trials

In its November 9, 2023 judgment, the Supreme Court had issued a series of directions to expedite the trial of more than 5,000 criminal cases involving Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).

The top court had directed High Courts to constitute special benches to monitor such cases and ensure their timely disposal. The apex court had also directed special courts dealing with cases against lawmakers to avoid granting adjournments except in "rare and compelling reasons" and instructed High Courts, district judiciary and designated special courts to accord priority to criminal proceedings involving MPs, MLAs and members of legislative councils. (ANI)

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