NEW DELHI: Despite the Supreme Court monitoring the disposal of criminal cases against present and former lawmakers, there has been an increase of 700 cases against them in the last two years.
In a report filed before the court, senior advocate Vijay Hansaria said in December 2018, these cases were 4,122, while as on date, the cases have now increased to 4,859.
The report was submitted in a petition filed in 2016 by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking speedy disposal of cases against MPs and MLAs.
At the last hearing, a bench by Justice N V Ramana had directed all HCs to formulate action plans to fasten the trial of pending cases against the lawmakers.
“It is, therefore, submitted that strict monitoring, at the micro-level, by the high courts is necessary to ensure expeditious disposal of the cases against legislators,” Hansaria said.
UP topped the list, with 1,347 cases awaiting final disposal, followed by Bihar with 557 and Odisha with 445 cases as per the report.
Hansaria disclosed details of action plans submitted by the HCs, except two, to ensure the speedy disposal of cases before the trial courts as well as HCs.
An analysis, he said, showed that many HCs favoured the constitution of special courts in each district, both at the sessions and magisterial levels.
He said all the HCs supported the idea of a safe and secure witness examination room, but they mentioned non-availability of funds as one of the reasons for being unable to provide this facility at the moment.
Apart from accepting other measures suggested by Hansaria, HCs have agreed to hold online proceedings of these matters.
Hansaria’s report states that most of the HCs have framed rules for e-conferencing, while some are in the process of finalising the same.