The High Court of Karnataka on Monday asked the State government to decide at the earliest on the need to set up one more special court to exclusively deal with the criminal cases regarding former and present MPs, MLAs, and MLCs in the State.
SC directions
A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S. Kinagi, made these remarks orally during the hearing of a PIL petition initiated suo motu on the directions of the Supreme Court to monitor the progress of trial in criminal cases against both former and present elected representatives.
When Additional Advocate-General M. Dhyan Chinnappa said that the government was yet to decide on establishing one more special court, in addition to the one set up in 2018, the Bench said the government needs to take the decision immediately.
The SC, on noticing many cases pending against MPs and MLAs across the country, had asked State governments to examine the need of establishing more special courts depending upon pendency of cases.
Also, the Bench directed the government to submit the particulars of the selections made to the posts of public prosecutors posted to the special court as the cases are sensitive in nature.
Jurisdiction
Meanwhile, senior advocate Aditya Sondhi, amicus curie appointed by the High Court in this petition, brought to the notice of the Bench two separate orders passed by a single-judge Bench holding that special courts also have jurisdiction to conduct the trial of criminal cases filed by MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, and not just those cases filed against them; and the special court in Karnataka has no jurisdiction to conduct trial of criminal cases registered against elected representatives from other States in Karnataka.
The Bench directed the Registrar-General of the HC to send these orders to senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, amicus curiae appointed by the SC, to being these verdicts, dealing with separate issues on special court’s jurisdiction, before the SC.
