Pending Trials Against MP/MLAs Remain Same Despite Courts' Monitoring, Amicus Tells Supreme Court

A fresh report submitted to the Supreme Court has raised concerns over the continued pendency of criminal cases against sitting and former Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies, despite years of judicial monitoring aimed at ensuring speedy trials.

As per a status report filed in the Supreme Court, 4192 criminal cases are pending against MPs and MLAs, out of which 519 cases have been pending for more than 10 years. 14 out of 28 Chief Ministers of States have declared cases against them, the highest being the Chief Minister of Telangana, Anumula Revanth Reddy.

The report notes that despite continuous monitoring from Courts, the pending cases have remained almost the same since 2018, with the highest number of cases pending under the jurisdiction of the Allahabad High Court.

The report has been filed in a 2016 writ petition titled Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v UOI, seeking expeditious hearing of criminal cases against MPs/MLAs. The report has been filed by Senior Advocate and amicus curiae Vijay Hansaria with the assistance of Advocate Sneha Kalitha, based on the information received from all High Courts except the Allahabad High Court, which didn't send any report.

The report details that 1243 cases have been decided against MPs and MLAs in 2025; in the same year, 1050 new cases were registered. Out of the 4192 pending cases, which also include cases against former MPs and MLAs, 754 cases are 5 to 10 years old, whereas 563 cases are 3 to 5 years old. About 1095 cases are less than 3 years old. 

Multiple reasons cited for delays

The amicus report identifies several factors contributing to the prolonged trials. These include Special Courts being required to handle regular judicial work in addition to MP/MLA cases, inadequate monitoring by High Courts, non-appearance of accused persons, delays in serving summons on witnesses and frequent adjournments.

The report's review of High Court proceedings also highlights problems such as unexecuted warrants, witnesses not being produced and delays in investigations and forensic reports.  

Exclusive Special Courts proposed

Against this backdrop, the amicus has urged the Supreme Court to strengthen the system of designated courts handling cases against legislators.

One of the key proposals is that Special Courts designated for MP/MLA cases should exclusively hear such cases until their disposal, rather than simultaneously handling their regular workload.

The report further seeks monthly judicial monitoring by High Courts and proposes that cases should ordinarily be concluded within one year of the framing of charges. Cases pending for more than three years should be conducted on a day-to-day basis, subject to the applicable procedural law.

The amicus has also proposed that non-bailable warrants be issued where an accused fails to appear on two consecutive hearings and that designated prosecution officers be made responsible for ensuring the attendance of witnesses.

Push for real-time transparency

Another major recommendation is greater public access to information about these cases. The report proposes that High Courts publish MP/MLA case data on a real-time basis, with order sheets uploaded within one week of orders being passed.

It also suggests creating a model website on the lines of the National Judicial Data Grid, containing district-wise information on pending cases and categorising them by age - less than one year, one to three years, three to seven years and more than seven years.

Cases pending in Parliament and State assemblies

As per the published reports of the Association for Democratic Reforms, 251 members out of 543 in the Lok Sabha have criminal cases against them, out of which 170 cases are serious criminal cases punishable with more than 5 years of imprisonment.

The highest number of cases against MPs is from Uttar Pradesh, where 80 cases are pending, out of which 34 cases are of a serious nature. This is followed by Maharashtra(48 cases), West Bengal(42 cases), Bihar (40 cases) and Tamil Nadu(39 cases). 

Equally worse is the Rajya Sabha, where 33% of members have criminal cases, of which 18% are serious criminal cases. 

At the State level, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of criminal cases against MLAs. 403 MLPs have cases as of 2022, out of which 158 are serious criminal cases. This is followed by West Bengal, where 292 cases against MLAs, out of which 170 are serious criminal cases. This is followed by Maharastra(288), Bihar(243), Madhya Pradesh(230 as on 2023) and Karnataka(224 as on 2023).

Cases against Chief Ministers

As per the report, 89 cases are pending against Telangana CM Reddy, including serious criminal cases. This is followed by West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari(29), Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar(19), Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu(19), and Kerala CM V.D. Satheesan(18).

Further, cases are also pending against Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Maharashtra CM D. G. Fadnavis, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh, Tamil Nadu CM Joseph Vijay, Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary, Sikkim CM PS Tamang, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Odisha CM MC Majhi and Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma.  

State-wise cases pending before Special Courts

Total number of cases pending in Special Courts across all States and Union Territories is 4192 as per the reports. However, as per the High Courts' websites, the total number of cases is 4442, with the highest number of cases pending under the Allahabad High Court, which is 1171 as of February 24.

Cases pending investigations

Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of cases pending investigation where a chargesheet has not been filed. About 223 cases are pending investigation, out of which 179 cases are more than 3 years old.

This is followed by the Madras High Court, where 38 cases are pending investigation for more than 3 years, followed by the Patna, Kerala, and Delhi High Courts.

Case Details: Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.|WP 699/2016