Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, February 9

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to take up a PIL in search of expeditious trial of instances in opposition to sitting and former MPs/MLAs and to debar these convicted from contesting polls in an effort to finish criminalisation of politics.

“I have filed a report…it needs to be considered My Lords,” senior advocate and Amicus Curiae Vijay Hansaria advised a Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.

“We will list it,” the CJI advised Hansaria. Later, the CJI indicated it is going to be listed subsequent week.

In his report filed within the courtroom, Hansaria had identified that regardless of the Supreme Court passing a collection of instructions to rid politics of criminals, the variety of individuals with legal antecedents getting into the Legislature has witnessed a major rise.

The whole variety of instances pending in opposition to sitting and former lawmakers has gone up from 4122 to 4984 between December 2018 and October 2020, the report said.

Out of the whole 4,984 instances, 1899 instances are greater than 5 years outdated, Hansaria stated in his newest report filed within the high courtroom which has been listening to a PIL filed by Delhi BJP chief and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay in search of expeditious trial of instances in opposition to sitting and former MPs/MLAs.

“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”, the report said.

The Amicus Curiae prompt establishing a monitoring committee headed by a former Supreme Court choose or Chief Justice of a High Court to observe the investigation of instances being pursued by central companies reminiscent of CBI, ED and NIA and to guage the explanations for the delay in investigation.

Hansaria complained that no response had been filed by the Centre by way of the August 25, 2021 order on expeditious investigation/trial of instances, offering of infrastructure services to the courts, and structure of the Monitoring Committee.

“The trial courts may be directed to pass a specific order in all pending cases that the benefit of the Witness Protection Scheme 2018, has been made available to the witnesses in terms of the order dated November 4, 2020”, he stated.

Hansaria needed the highest courtroom to direct the Centre to supply funds for making certain easy functioning of courts via digital mode by facilitating the supply of video convention services.