'Provide Status Of Pending Cases Against MP/MLAs': Punjab & Haryana High Court Tells District Judges

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed District & Sessions Judges across Punjab, Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to furnish a status updates on all pending criminal cases involving sitting and former MPs and MLAs. Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Yashvir Singh Rathod was hearing a suo moto cognizance, to monitor the early disposal of pending criminal cases against Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies, following the Supreme Court directions issued in 2023.During the hearing, counsel appearing for the Haryana government submitted that a total of 13 cases are pending against MLAs/MPs, including one FIR registered in 2025. In that FIR, the challan has been filed. He further submitted that investigation is pending in 11 of the total cases.Chief Justice Sheel Nagu asked, "People are looking at you...had he been a common man you would have finished investigation in six months and put him in jail...I will ask DGP to appear virtually. Let him explain."Counsel for Haryana government justifying the delay, said that "there are cases involving scam of Rs. 5000 crore."The Court noted that Punjab Government and UT administration did not file their affidavit. Hence it granted them two days opportunity to file their respective response. In the last hearing, the Court had noted that as per affidavit in Haryana, as many as 16 criminal trials are pending against former/sitting MPs/MLAs, where proceedings have been pending in one case since the year 2011 and in other cases since the years 2017, 2018, 2019 etc.Hence, it had directed the Home Secretary, Govt. of Haryana to file his own affidavit explaining therein the delay in completion of investigations in the aforesaid cases where the investigations are still pending.Similarly the Court had noted that in Punjab there are 28 criminal cases lodged against former/sitting MPs/MLAs of the State of Punjab, most of which have been lodged recently in the years 2023/2024 with an occasional case lodged earlier. The Court had also asked the Punjab's Home Secretary, to file his own affidavit explaining the reasons for delay, if any, in completion of investigation in criminal cases pending against former/sitting MPs/MLAs in Punjab especially, "the reasons for the delay in the submission of fresh investigation reports after the initial cancellation reports filed by the State have not been accepted by the competent courts."Title: COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION (IN RE: DESIGNATED COURTS FOR MP'S/MLA'S) V/S STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS

'Provide Status Of Pending Cases Against MP/MLAs': Punjab & Haryana High Court Tells District Judges

Aiman J. Chishti

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