251 out of 543 Lok Sabha MPs have criminal cases pending against them, 95% of Kerala MPs have been named: Data was presented in the Supreme Court regarding the criminalization of politics. This shows that out of 543 Lok Sabha MPs, 251 have criminal cases pending against them. Out of them, 170 have such crimes, which can lead to imprisonment of 5 or more years. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria submitted an 83-page report to the bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Manmohan, which has been prepared by taking data from various High Courts. According to this, criminal cases are registered against 19 out of 20 MPs of Kerala (95%), out of which 11 are serious cases.
Criminal cases against 14 MPs of Telangana
Out of 17 MPs of Telangana, criminal cases are pending against 14 (82%). 16 out of 21 MPs from Odisha (76%), 10 out of 14 MPs from Jharkhand (71%) and 26 out of 39 MPs from Tamil Nadu (67%) have criminal cases registered against them. 50% MPs from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh have criminal cases registered against them.
10 MPs from Haryana and 2 MPs from Punjab named
According to the data, only one MP each out of 10 MPs from Haryana and 11 MPs from Chhattisgarh have criminal charges against them. 2 out of 13 MPs from Punjab, 3 out of 14 MPs from Assam, 3 out of 7 MPs from Delhi, 4 out of 25 MPs from Rajasthan, 5 out of 25 MPs from Gujarat and 9 out of 29 MPs from Madhya Pradesh have criminal cases pending against them.
SC concerned over criminalization of politics
The Supreme Court has termed criminalization of politics as a big issue. The court questioned how a person can return to Parliament after being convicted in a criminal case. A bench of Justices Dipankar Dutta and Manmohan therefore sought assistance from the Attorney General of India on the issue.
Demand for life ban on convicted politicians
The bench was hearing a PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking speedy disposal of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs in the country and a life ban on convicted politicians. The court has sought a response from the Centre and the Election Commission of India within three weeks on the challenge to the constitutional validity of Sections 8 and 9 of the Representation of the People Act.
