Trial Pending In 102 Cases Against MPs/MLAs, Probe Pending In 19 FIRs, Punjab Police Tells High Court

Punjab government's Bureau Of Investigation on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that a total of 102 cases against the lawmakers - incumbent and former, are pending trial in various courts across the state.

The court was also told that in addition to the matters pending before trial courts, investigation in 19 cases is pending against the MPs and MLAs. The police said the number of cases pending investigation has come down from 42 to 19 since September 29, the last date of hearing.

The data was submitted in a written reply to the suo motu case initiated by the high court in 2021 on the basis of a Supreme Court direction against each high court in the country to monitor the progress of cases pending against the lawmakers.

The case was listed for hearing before the division bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Vikram Aggarwal. The case was adjourned to January 19. The State was represented by Additional Advocate General Gaurav Garg Dhuriwala. 

In September, the court had observed that one of the cases in the list was pending since 1998 asnd certain cases also relate to 2013 and 2015. It had directed the investigating agencies to explain the steps being taken to effectively conclude the investigation in the cases.

The Bureau Of Investigation in the latest report told the court that investigation in the case dating back to 1998 has concluded. "It is submitted that at present no cases from the year 2013 and 2015 are pending investigation in the State of Punjab," it said further.

Title: COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION VS STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS