LI Network
Published on: December 16, 2023 at 12:48 IST
The Telangana High Court has issued a series of directives aimed at expediting the adjudication of cases involving Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and Members of Parliament (MPs).
The court took Suo Motu cognizance to address the backlog of cases against elected representatives within the state.
During the previous hearing, the court instructed the Registrar of the High Court of Telangana to compile a report detailing the number of pending cases against MLAs and MPs in the state.
Senior Counsel Vidya Sagar, representing the Registrar General, presented the report to the Division Bench, headed by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti.
The statistical data, now accessible on the official website of the Telangana High Court, revealed a total of 115 pending cases against government representatives throughout the state.
In response to this, the bench issued the following directives to ensure expeditious resolution:
- CBI Courts were mandated to dispose of pending discharge petitions within a two-month timeframe.
- Investigating officers were instructed to issue summons promptly (within two weeks) in cases where summonses were pending.
- The court noted that a bench had stayed 10 cases and urged all special benches to expeditiously handle miscellaneous petitions, including vacating state petitions.
- For cases where summonses were served but the accused had not appeared, the respective courts were directed to take appropriate action in coordination with the police to secure their appearance.
- In instances pending at the pre-cognizance stage, the police were directed to take necessary steps, and magistrates were instructed to promptly number chargesheets once objections were addressed.
Senior Advocate Vidya Sagar was tasked with submitting a compliance report on the next hearing date, scheduled after a three-month interval.
This development is part of SuoMotuWP 11 of 2023 and involves counsels B. Narasimha Sharma, Additional Solicitor General of India, and Mujib Kumar, Government Pleader attached to the office of Additional Advocate General, along with Senior Counsel G. Vidya Sagar representing the respondents.