Trials in cases against MPs, MLAs getting stalled: Kerala HC seeks report from police chief

Kochi : The high court, noticing that the trials in cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs were getting stalled due to the summons and warrants against the co-accused remaining pending, directed the state police chief to furnish a report on the issue. A bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V M Syam Kumar issued the order in a 2021 suo motu case initiated pursuant to a Supreme Court directive to monitor the progress of cases against elected representatives. A report submitted by the additional chief secretary stated that, among 14 cases pending for more than five years, summons had been served or warrants executed in 10 cases, while process remained pending for execution in four cases. Similarly, in 32 cases pending for more than two years, summons had been served or warrants executed in 19 cases, while process remained pending for execution in 13 cases. Meanwhile, a report from the district judiciary stated that, as of Aug 31, process remained pending for more than five years in 14 cases, while there were 30 cases pending for more than two years in which summons or warrants remained unexecuted. Although the process had been executed in two cases in the first category, reducing the number to 12, two new cases had been included in the list in August, bringing the total back to 14. Similarly, in the category of cases pending for more than two years, the process had been completed in only five of the 32 cases, while three new cases had been included in the category. The report further stated that the police, after executing summons/warrants only against the MPs/MLAs, had categorised the cases as 'not pending for process execution' in the compliance report, even while processes against co-accused other than MPs/MLAs remained pending. Perusing the details, the court also sought a detailed report from the registrar of the district judiciary regarding the issues flagged in the report by the next posting date, Sept 29. The registrar was also directed to place before the Chief Justice, on the administrative side, details of the criminal cases in which the trial had been stayed by the court. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news. Download the TOI App.