The Gauhati High Court has directed its Registry to redraw and segregate the list of pending criminal cases involving Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies, ordering two separate compilations: one for cases registered or pending up to 2016, and a second for cases from 2017 to date. The court said lists must distinguish matters where sitting or former legislators are complainants or informants from those where they are accused. The date for submission of the revised lists will be decided at the next hearing on March 10, 2026.
A bench of Justices Devashis Baruah and Arun Dev Choudhury gave the direction in the suo motu matter (WP(C)(Suo Moto)/3/2020) dealing with pending cases across courts in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. The bench noted a report filed pursuant to its earlier order of January 20, 2026 and recorded that an updated status report was to have been placed before the court during the March 5 hearing.
The court observed that the issue of speedy disposal of criminal trials involving sitting and former legislators is no longer res integra — no longer an unresolved legal question — and recalled the Supreme Court’s insistence that delay in such trials erodes public confidence. The high court reiterated that criminal cases in which legislators are accused must be expedited and monitored, typically by a division bench of the relevant high court.
From the report before it, the court said the cases now pending date from 2003 through 2026, and stressed that older matters require priority and closer monitoring. “That being the position, the list of pending cases should be re-drawn, segregating those cases where the sitting and former Legislators are not accused but complainant/informant and thereafter, prepare a list of pending cases where the sitting and former Legislators are accused,” the court directed.
The bench was informed that the Assam government has recently appointed more than 200 public prosecutors, including Additional and Assistant Public Prosecutors, and that some incumbent prosecutors are not cooperating with prosecutions amid the replacement process — creating what the court described as a stalemate affecting expeditious prosecution. The court therefore sought the assistance and opinion of the Advocate General, Assam, and listed the matter for the Advocate General’s hearing on March 10, 2026. The Registry was told to continue preparing the segregated lists, with the date for their formal submission to be fixed at the next listing.
Original Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/topheadlines/gauhati-high-court-orders-segregation-of-pending-cases-against-mps-and-mlas
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Publish Date: 2026-03-08 07:14:00
