The Bombay High Court has come down strongly on the Maharashtra government over the pendency of criminal cases against lawmakers. On Monday, a division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice NJ Jamadar directed the state to file a comprehensive status report on 467 pending cases involving sitting and former MPs and MLAs across Maharashtra, Goa, Daman, and Silvassa. The court also demanded detailed explanations for the delays in their disposal.
The matter came up after the High Court registry submitted a report on the status of these cases. However, the bench expressed sharp dissatisfaction, observing that the information was inadequate and failed to provide crucial details. Calling the report unsatisfactory, the bench remarked that it was not the job of the registry to collect such data on behalf of the state. Instead, the judges stressed that it was the government’s duty to gather information through its public prosecutors and place a full, factual account before the court.
The bench further noted that while the report mentioned 467 pending cases, it did not specify the district-wise distribution, nor did it contain essential information such as the stage of each trial, the number of witnesses examined, the remaining witnesses, or whether any of the accused were absconding. The judges made it clear that without these details, the court could not effectively monitor the progress of such trials. They also pressed the state to disclose how many Additional Public Prosecutors were appointed in these courts to handle the caseload.
When Public Prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh argued that many cases were pending due to summons not being delivered, the bench firmly rejected this reasoning. The judges observed that since MPs and MLAs are public figures, it was implausible for the state to claim ignorance of their whereabouts or difficulty in serving summons. The bench then asked the government to outline specific measures it had taken to secure the presence of accused lawmakers when they failed to respond to court summons.
In its order, the bench directed that a tabular chart must be prepared, covering each pending case in detail. The chart must list the total number of witnesses, the number already examined, the stage of trial, and the prosecuting agency’s efforts to ensure the accused’s appearance in instances where court processes could not be served.
The Maharashtra government has been granted four weeks to compile and submit this data. The direction comes in the backdrop of a 2021 Supreme Court order, which required all High Courts to review the pendency of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs and ensure their speedy disposal, preventing undue delays that could undermine accountability among elected representatives.
