New Delhi, Sep 12 (UNI) Supreme Court on Wednesday asked several states including Chhattisgarh, Odisha and others to file their complete data of pending criminal cases against former and sitting MPs and MLAs.
A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, was hearing the petition filed by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay seeking speedy disposal of criminal cases pending against sitting MLAs and MPs, preferably in a year.
The apex court also asked the Registrar Generals (RGs) of the High Courts of many states, as to how many of these criminal cases were referred to the Fast Track Courts (FTCs) to complete the proceedings in a time-bound manner.
Sajjan Poovaya, advocate for the petitioner, told the court that one Union Territory and 10 states have submitted their detailed replies with respect to the setting up of special courts for speedy disposal of pending criminal cases against sitting and former lawmakers.
The ten states, which have submitted their replies to the apex court and already set up a special court, are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, while the Union Territory of Delhi has set up two such courts.
The bench asked why the remaining states have not filed their responses yet, and sought a detailed reply from these states which have not filed their replies.
The matter would come up for further hearing after second week of October.
UNI XC SHK1755