The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted additional three weeks to states which have not filed their responses yet with respect to setting up of special courts in connection with the pending criminal cases against Member of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and Member of Parliaments (MPs).
The apex court was hearing a petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Upadhyay seeking setting up of special courts and speedy disposal of criminal cases pending against MPs and MLAs.
Out of total 29 states and seven union territories, 10 states and one Union Territory (UT) have filed their responses. Among 10 states that have filed responses include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, and UT, Delhi. While the 10 states had stated that they had constituted one special court each, Delhi had stated that it had set up two special courts.
The apex court also appointed Supreme Court lawyer Vijay Hansaria as an Amicus Curiae to assist the top court in the matter.
In the last hearing, the Supreme Court bench had asked all the Chief Secretaries of the states and Registrar General's of state High Courts, to apprise it as to how many criminal cases are pending against MLAs and MPs.
The top court also wanted to know from all the states as to whether these criminal cases were transferred to the respective Special Courts or not.