Fourteen of India’s 28 state chief ministers are facing serious criminal cases, senior advocate and amicus curiae Vijay Hansaria has informed the Supreme Court in the decade-old proceedings concerning the expeditious trial of criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has the highest number, with 89 cases, followed by West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari with 29, while Karnataka’s D K Shivakumar and Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu have 19 each.
The list also includes Kerala CM V D Satheesan (18), Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren (5), Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis (4), Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (4), Tamil Nadu’s C Joseph Vijay (2), Bihar’s Samrat Choudhary (2), and one case each against Sikkim’s P S Tamang, Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann, Odisha’s Mohan Charan Majhi and Rajasthan’s Bhajan Lal Sharma. The disclosure is part of the Supreme Court’s continuing effort to ensure that criminal proceedings involving elected representatives are not delayed for years.
What The Data Shows
The figures place Reddy at the top with 89 cases, a number that has also appeared in earlier analyses of election affidavits. However, the existence of a criminal case does not mean that a person has been convicted or found guilty. The wider Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch analysis of the self-sworn affidavits of the country’s 31 chief ministers found that 14 had declared criminal cases, while 11 had declared serious criminal charges.
These include offences carrying a maximum punishment of five years or more, non-bailable cognisable offences, assault, murder, kidnapping, crimes against women and alleged violations under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The distinction is important because criminal cases can arise from very different circumstances, including political protests and alleged violations of public-order laws, and their presence alone cannot establish wrongdoing.
Why The Supreme Court Is Monitoring
The proceedings stem from a long-running petition seeking the speedy disposal of criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs. The Supreme Court appointed Hansaria as amicus curiae to assist it in examining the extent of the backlog and ways to accelerate trials. In a 2023 order, the Court said the issue was to ensure the expeditious disposal of such cases and asked Chief Justices of High Courts to constitute special benches to review and monitor their progress.
Instead of creating a separate nationwide system of special courts, the Court had earlier directed that designated courts at the district level handle these cases on a priority basis, with offences punishable by death or life imprisonment taking precedence, followed by serious offences carrying sentences of five years or more.
The latest disclosure therefore puts the spotlight not merely on the number of cases involving political leaders, but also on the ability of the justice system to conclude proceedings within a reasonable time.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The presence of criminal cases against elected representatives is a matter that deserves public attention, but it also calls for care and fairness in how the information is discussed. A pending case is an allegation to be tested through due process, not a conviction, and political affiliation should not determine whether a case is pursued, withdrawn or expedited.
At the same time, holding public office should never become a reason for criminal proceedings to remain unresolved indefinitely. Fast, impartial trials can protect both citizens seeking justice and public representatives facing allegations, while reducing the scope for political accusations and counter-accusations to replace evidence. The larger question is whether India can build a system where every criminal case, regardless of the accused person’s political power or position, is investigated fairly and decided without unnecessary delay. Do you think faster trials for elected representatives can strengthen public trust in Indian democracy?
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