The Maharashtra government informed the Bombay High Court on Thursday that 466 cases were pending against members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the state. Of these, 250 are pending in the Mumbai region.
The HC had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of withdrawn cases against MPs and MLAs after the apex court in 2021 asked all the high courts to examine the cases. The SC asked all the high courts to monitor the issue and ensure there is expeditious disposal of criminal cases pending against the elected representatives.
State advocate AR Patil submitted a chart which showed that 466 cases were pending in the state and of these, 250 cases were pending in the Bombay region, which includes Kolhapur, Nashik, Pune, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Solapur and Thane.
After the Bombay region, the maximum number of cases pending against elected representatives was 110 in Aurangabad. Nagpur, Goa and Union Territories (UT) of Diu and Daman are 75, 20 and 11 respectively.
In the Mumbai region, the sessions court and the high court had earlier stayed five and 17 cases respectively, whereas, no cases have been stayed in Goa and UT of Diu and Daman.
After going through the chart, the court said it will pass an order. “We will pass an order on the administrative side to take steps for expeditious disposal of cases and also on cases where the matters were stayed,” a special bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice NJ Jamadar said.
The HC, on April 19, granted the permission to withdraw prosecution in nearly six cases. On March 22, the HC passed an order granting approval for withdrawal of 22 such cases which were already withdrawn by the prosecution since September 2022.
The state has taken a policy decision to withdraw cases arising out of social and political causes in line with its March 14, 2016, and December 16, 2020, Government Resolutions. A committee was set up by the state to consider withdrawing cases where there was no loss of life or destruction of property above Rs.5 lakh. Based on the committee's recommendations, the state had asked prosecutors concerned to file applications for withdrawal of such cases. Ultimately, the courts decide whether to grant permission to withdraw cases.
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