Assam has 66 pending cases against MLAs, MPs

* Other NE states have 23 cases

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Eighty-nine cases against MLAs and MPs are pending in Assam and other states in the Northeast. The status reports of the cases prepared by high courts reveal this. Some of these cases have been pending for 10-15 years.

The 89 cases comprise both corruption and criminal cases that are pending at different stages in different courts.

The petitioner in the Ashwini Kumar Upadhaya versus the Union of India and others case (writ petition No. 699/2016) prayed to the Supreme Court of India to expedite the hearings of these cases.

The Supreme Court did appoint senior advocate Vijay Hansaria as an amicus curiae for taking the status reports of all such pending cases against MLAs and MPs from high courts. According to the latest status report submitted to the Supreme Court by the amicus curiae, Assam has 66 pending cases against MLAs and MPs (both present and former) till August 19, 2021. The cases are pending at different stages in different district courts.

Kamrup (M) has four session court cases, including one against a sitting MP under Section 302 of IPC, pending. All four cases are at the evidence stage. The earliest one of these four cases is of 2006, and the latest one is of 2018.

Three other session court cases, including one against a sitting MLA, are also pending in the Kamrup (M) district. The case against the sitting MLA is of 2014-15. The examination of witnesses is yet to start in the other two cases.

In Arunachal Pradesh, 11 cases against MLAs and MPs are pending, two in Mizoram, six in Manipur and four in Meghalaya.

The report of the amicus curiae reads 'high courts may be directed to issue administrative instructions with regard to the cases before the courts concerned to expedite the trial of the aforesaid cases on a day-to-day basis. The high courts or other courts without video-conferencing facilities should install such facilities to expedite the cases.'

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