NEW DELHI, AUG 17 (AGENCIES): A fresh status report submitted to the Supreme Court has highlighted the criminal cases declared by elected representatives, with 326 sitting MPs and chief ministers of 14 states having cases against them, a TOI report stated.
The report, filed by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, amicus curiae assisting the court in a PIL seeking speedy disposal of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs, said 251 of 543 Lok Sabha members and 75 of 233 Rajya Sabha members have criminal cases pending against them.
According to Association for Democratic Reforms data, 170 Lok Sabha MPs facing cases have declared serious criminal cases carrying a possible sentence of five years or more. In the Rajya Sabha, 40 of the 75 MPs facing cases have serious charges.
The report said 4,192 criminal cases are pending against current and former MPs and MLAs. Hansaria noted that despite monitoring by the Supreme Court and high courts, pendency has remained largely unchanged since 2018. Data from various high courts showed 1,243 cases were disposed of in 2025, against 1,050 new cases registered that year.
14 chief ministers have criminal cases: The affidavit said 14 of the country’s 28 chief ministers have declared criminal cases, including serious offences. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy has the highest number, with 89 cases, followed by West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari with 29 and Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar with 19.
Kerala topped the state-wise analysis, with 19 of its 20 MPs facing criminal charges, including 11 with serious cases. Telangana followed, with 14 of 17 MPs facing charges. Odisha had 16 of 21 MPs (76%) with criminal cases, while Jharkhand had 10 of 14 and Tamil Nadu 26 of 39.
Around half of the MPs in several other major states, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, have criminal cases. Lower numbers were reported in Haryana and Chhattisgarh, with one MP each, Punjab with two of 13, Assam with three of 14, Delhi with three of seven, Rajasthan with four of 25, Gujarat with five of 25 and Madhya Pradesh with nine of 29. Uttar Pradesh was excluded as the Allahabad High Court had not submitted its report.
Hansaria urged the SC to strengthen monitoring of criminal cases involving lawmakers and ensure their conclusion within a fixed timeframe. He proposed that special courts designated for MPs and MLAs exclusively hear lawmakers’ trials until completion, instead of taking up regular judicial work.
Hansaria is assisting the court in a PIL filed by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay seeking expeditious disposal of such cases.
In its November 9, 2023 judgment, the SC had directed high courts to constitute special benches to monitor cases and asked special courts to avoid adjournments except for “rare and compelling reasons”. It also directed that criminal cases against MPs, MLAs and MLCs be given priority.
Tuesday, August 18, 2026