Gauhati High Court Asks Its Registry To List All 20 Criminal Pleas Involving MPs, MLAs Before Special Bench For Expeditious Disposal
The Gauhati High Court on Monday (December 9), directed its Registry to take necessary steps for listing all pending twenty criminal petitions and criminal revision petitions involving MPs or MLAs before a Special Bench within 10 days, after obtaining necessary approval of the Chief Justice on the administrative side.A division bench of Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury...
The Gauhati High Court on Monday (December 9), directed its Registry to take necessary steps for listing all pending twenty criminal petitions and criminal revision petitions involving MPs or MLAs before a Special Bench within 10 days, after obtaining necessary approval of the Chief Justice on the administrative side.
A division bench of Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury passed the direction while hearing a suo moto writ petition taken up in terms of the direction issued by the Supreme Court in WP(C) No.699/2016 on September 16, 2020 directing constitution of a Special Bench.
The Apex Court, in the said writ petition, had sought detailed reports from all the High Courts as regards pendency of criminal trials against persons involving sitting legislators/ex-legislators and to take necessary steps for streamlining the trials going on for expeditious disposal.
During the hearing on December 9, the High Court took note of the report dated July 25 submitted by its Registrar General in which it was stated that as many as twenty criminal petitions/criminal revision petitions involving MPs/MLAs are pending before the Principal Seat of the High Court.
It was further noted by the High Court that as per the said report these matters have been listed from time to time, however, there is no material available on record to indicate the progress made therein to date.
“Insofar as the district judiciary is concerned, the report mentions about a number of pending cases involving the MPs/ MLAs. However, from the said report it is not possible to ascertain as to the progress, if any, that might have been made in those cases, since the filing of the report dated 25-07-2024,” the Court remarked.
The Court after taking note of the overall facts and circumstances of the case, issued the following directions:
- Copies of the report dated July 25 be furnished to the Additional Advocate Generals of the State of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland within a week from December 9 so as to enable them to come up with their response.
- Insofar as the 20 criminal petitions/ criminal revision petitions pending before the Principal Seat of the High Court is concerned, the Registry to take necessary steps for listing all those cases before a Special Bench, within 10 days from today, after obtaining necessary approval of the Chief Justice in the administrative side. Once these matters are listed, it would be expected that the Special Bench so constituted for the purpose, shall take all possible steps for expeditious disposal of these cases.
- Insofar as the cases pending before the district judiciary is concerned, an up-to-date status report, indicating the progress made therein since the filing of the report dated July 25, 2024, be brought on record, including the number of such cases disposed of, so far, if any.
The matter is directed to be listed again on January 28, 2025.
Case Title: Designated Courts for MPs/MLAs v. State of Assam& Ors.
Case No.: WP(C)(Suo Moto)/3/2020