Lok Sabha Question No. 3475 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-02
Subject: Special Public Prosecutors
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3475 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 02 nd  JANUARY, 2019

## Special Public Prosecutors

## 3475.  SHRIMATI  RAKSHATAI  KHADSE:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  apex  court  directed  the  States  and  Union  Territory  administration  for appointment of special public prosecutors for  prosecuting  the  cases  being  tried  in  the  special designated courts and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether apex court also directed the high courts to decide cases involving former Law makers on a priority basis without passing any further stay orders; and
- (c) if so, the details of steps taken in this regard and the status of such cases, court-wise?

## ANSWER

## Minister of State for Law & Justice and Corporate Affairs (SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (c): Setting up of special designated courts and their functioning including appointment of special public prosecutor in these courts falls  within the domain of the State Governments, who set up such courts as per their need and resources, in consultation with the concerned High Courts.

In its judgments in Writ Petition (Civil) 536/2011 [Public Interest Foundation & Ors.Vs Union of India & ANR.] and in Writ Petition (Civil) 699/2016 [Ashwini Kumar Upadhyaya Vs Union of India & ANR.], the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India has given directions to fast track criminal cases against law-makers. In compliance of the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (Civil) 699/2016 dated 01.11.2017 and 14.12.2017, 12 Special Courts were set up in 11 States at a cost of    Rs.7.80  crore  for  a  period  of  one  year.  As  per  the  report  submitted  by  the  Amicus  Curie  in  the Hon'ble Supreme Court, a total of 4,122 such cases are pending in different High Courts of the country, the details of which are  at Annexure.

The Apex Court vide its Order dated 04.12.2018 in the aforesaid Writ Petition  has given directions to High Courts  to begin with  cases involving former and sitting legislators in the States  of  Bihar  and  Kerala,  to  assign/allocate  criminal  cases  involving  former  and  sitting legislators  to  as  many  Sessions  Courts  and  Magisterial  Courts  as    each  High  Court  may consider proper, fit and expedient.

…

Annexure to reply to Lok Sabha USQ. No. 3475 at 02.01.2019.

| SI.No.   | State/UT               | cases Pending charge   | cases Pending trial   |   Total cases | cases under Stay   |
|----------|------------------------|------------------------|-----------------------|---------------|--------------------|
|          | 1                      | 2                      | 3                     |             4 | 5                  |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh         | 72                     | 37                    |           109 | 14                 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh      | 4                      | 2                     |             6 | 1                  |
| 3        | Assam                  | 23                     | 15                    |            38 | 4                  |
| 4        | Bihar                  | 107                    | 197                   |           304 | 3                  |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh           | NA                     | 24                    |            24 | NA                 |
| 6        | Goa                    | 12                     | 3                     |            15 | 2                  |
| 7        | Gujarat                | 57                     | 62                    |           119 | 8                  |
| 8        | Haryana                | 29                     | 6                     |            35 | 4                  |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh       | 29                     | 5                     |            34 | 5                  |
| 10       | Jammu&Kashmir          | 9                      | 3                     |            12 | 1                  |
| 11       | Jharkhand              | 59                     | 101                   |           160 | 4                  |
| 12       | Karnataka              | 118                    | 43                    |           161 | 40                 |
| 13       | Kerala                 | 131                    | 181                   |           312 | 5                  |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh         | 103                    | 65                    |           168 | 3                  |
| 15       | Maharashtra            | 203                    | 100                   |           303 | 5                  |
| 16       | Manipur                | 11                     | 1                     |            12 | 0                  |
| 17       | Meghalaya              | 1                      | 2                     |             3 | 0                  |
| 18       | Mizoram                | 0                      | 4                     |             4 | 0                  |
| 19       | Nagaland               | 0                      | 1                     |             1 | 0                  |
| 20       | Orissa                 | 104                    | 227                   |           331 | 14                 |
| 21       | Punjab                 | 8                      | 26                    |            34 | 8                  |
| 22       | Rajasthan              | 22                     | 24                    |            46 | 1                  |
| 23       | Sikkim                 | 0                      | 0                     |             0 | 0                  |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu             | 188                    | 133                   |           321 | 105                |
| 25       | Telangana              | 66                     | 33                    |            99 | 9                  |
| 26       | Tripura                | 8                      | 8                     |            16 | 0                  |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh          | 395                    | 597                   |           992 | 14                 |
| 28       | Uttarakhand            | 23                     | 11                    |            34 | 5                  |
| 29       | West Bengal            | 178                    | 91                    |           269 | 6                  |
| UT 1     | Delhi                  | NA                     | NA                    |           124 | 2                  |
| UT 4     | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 1                      | 1                     |             2 | 0                  |
| UT 5     | Daman andDiu           | 0                      | 0                     |             0 | 0                  |
| UT 7     | Puducherry             | 30                     | 4                     |            34 | 1                  |
|          | TOTAL                  | 1991                   | 2007                  |          4122 | 264                |