Approval of High Court needed to withdraw criminal cases against MPs & MLAs: SC

Aug. 10: In a landmark judgement affecting politicians facing criminal cases, the Supreme Court on Tuesday curtailed the power of state prosecutors and ordered that they cannot withdraw prosecution against the lawmakers under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) without prior sanction from high courts. In another important direction, the top court ordered that judges of special courts hearing cases against the MPs and MLAs will not be transferred until further orders.

A bench headed by CJI NV Ramana said this was a direction that has to be issued urgently in view of a report by the amicus curiae (lawyer to assist the court) flagging attempt by various state governments to drop charges against sitting and former legislators. The directions were issued by the bench while hearing the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyaya citing staggering pendency of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs and their expeditious disposal by setting up special courts.

During the proceedings, the court also pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for not submitting details of cases the agency is prosecuting against MPs and MLAs. The bench read out its orders since September 2020 when the CBI was repeatedly asked to submit a status report but to no avail. The CJI also indicated that a special bench will be constituted to regularly monitor the progress made in ensuring speedy trials of MPs and MLAs, in which there is already a direction of the top court in 2014 that such trials must complete within one year of the framing of charges.