Monday, July 13, 2015

India : Criminals in Politics 2

Article Courtesy

The arrest of an Indian Member of Parliament on a human-trafficking attempt became a dramatic example of an issue first raised by SW India: nearly 25 per cent of the members of the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) have criminal records. SW India’s Report was quoted in International Herald Tribune Asia-Pacific, The Indian Express, Bloomberg New York, Central Chronicle, Daily News & Analysis DNA, IOL.

25% of Parliament Members of Lok Sabha are tainted

New Delhi: On April 18, BJP MP from Gujarat, Babubhai Katara, was held for trying to take a woman on his wife’s passport on a flight to Toronto. A showcause notice was issued to the MP.

On March 18, 2007, former Chhattisgarh chief minister, Ajit Jogi, was arrested by the CBI in connection with the murder of NCP treasurer Ram Avtar Jaggi. Jaggi was shot dead in June 2003.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader, Shibu Soren, was given life imprisonment for murdering his aide.

More recently, BJP MP, Navjot Singh Sidhu was awarded a suspended sentence of three years for causing the death of a man in a road rage.

The 'honorable' representatives of a billion Indians hold the dubious distinction of making criminal history - 136 MPs with criminal backgrounds iin the 14th Lok Sabha.

According to the Citizen's Report on Governance and Development - 2006, prepared by the National Social Watch Coalition, at last count nearly 25 per cent of Lok Sabha MPs had criminal cases against them.

Tainted politicians like Arun Gawli, Pappu Yadav and Sadhu Yadav, who have history of winning ballots with bullets, now rule the people and they completely ignore the report of the House Committee on Ethics which says that the members are expected to behave in a decorous and dignified manner.

Reflecting on what it termed as Parliament's "derelictions" and "progressive decline in Parliamentary behaviour and functioning," the report said: "The 14th Lok Sabha lost 26 per cent of its time in interruptions arising out of various political controversies. During the same period, the Rajya Sabha lost a total of 29 per cent of its time on corresponding issues."

Young lawmakers break more laws

Young lawmakers are more prone to breaking laws. The report points out that 30.4 per cent of MPs between 36 and 45 years, who are a part of the 14th Lok Sabha are facing criminal cases in different parts of the country.

Out of these, 18.3 per cent are facing grave charges.

The report also claims that over 50 per cent of serious criminal cases registered against MPs were mostly from UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and MP.

The charges are varied ranging from murder to rape besides extortion and even attempts to commit suicide.

HALL OF SHAME Moni Kumar Subba, a Congress MP, is accused of being a Nepali citizen, but the suspicion over his nationality has not stopped him from becoming a Congress Member of Parliament from Tezpur, Assam.

Over the years, there have been reports that Subba was, in fact, a murder convict in Nepal, and he was imprisoned from 1971 to 1973 before he escaped to India. Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Choudhry has a case against her for obstructing a public servant. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has the Fodder Scam case still pending against him. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has been named in the Stamp scam by main accused Abdul Karim Telgi. 10 MPs were suspended by Parliament for their role in the Cash-for-Query scam last year. BJP MP from Gujarat, Babubhai Katara, was held for trying to take a woman on his wife’s passport on a flight to Toronto. A showcause notice was issued to the MP. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader, Shibu Soren, was given life imprisonment for murdering his aide. On March 18, 2007, former Chhattisgarh chief minister, Ajit Jogi, was arrested by the CBI in connection with the murder of NCP treasurer Ram Avtar Jaggi. Jaggi was shot dead in June 2003. More recently, BJP MP, Navjot Singh Sidhu was awarded a suspended sentence of three years for causing the death of a man in a road rage. A disproportionate assets case is pending against BSP supremo Mayawati.

See the Citizen's Report on Governance and Development - 2006

India : Criminal In Politics

Criminals in politics
Original Report

The 2009 Lok Sabha:

1 CRIME & POLITICS
1.1 2009 LS race saw tainted faces in 450 of 545 seats
1.2 Party-wise sitting MPs & MLAs with criminal cases (2013)
1.3 Madhya Pradesh: survey of 10 parliamentary constituencies
1.4 2014: 34% MPs have criminal background; an increase of 4 percentage points
1.5 Likelihood of elected politician to be a criminal vis-a-vis the common man
1.5.1 1 in 54 MPs faces kidnapping charge
2 Criminals in politics are i) richer and ii) more likely to get re-elected
2.1 CRIME PAYS FOR SOME? (statistics)
2.2 RS seat goes for 100cr: Cong MP
2.3 ‘74% tainted candidates got a second chance’
3 Pendency (in years) of criminal cases against MPs
3.1 Types of criminal cases against MPs
3.2 Serious criminal cases pending for the maximum duration:
4 Trials against MPs in serious cases continue for 7 years on an average
5 Trials against tainted MPs and MLAs to be completed within a year: SC
5.1 Time limit on netas’ trials at odds with earlier SC ruling?
6 2012-14: Ministers allegedly involved in criminal cases
7 2015: SC-Unseating if criminal cases cancelled
8 2015:no serious charges against MLAs
9 Parliament, not Judiciary can debar
10 See also

CRIME & POLITICS

TNN & AGENCIES 2013/07/12

The Times of India

450 ‘tainted’ [presumably, Lok Sabha] constituencies have at least 1 candidate facing criminal charges

104 seats [presumably, Lok Sabha]have 2 tainted candidates

& 56 constituencies [presumably, Lok Sabha] have more than 5 contesting tainted candidates

Voters tend to choose clean candidates. In seats where only 1 candidate had a criminal record, voters chose 83% of the clean candidates But percentage of clean candidates went down to 35% in seats with more than 5 tainted candidates

Between 2004 and 2009, number of MPs with criminal charges has risen from 128 to 162

The silver lining was number of MPs charged with rape, murder, kidnapping & extortion dipped from 296 in 2004 to 274 in 2009


2009 LS race saw tainted faces in 450 of 545 seats

Himanshi Dhawan | TNN

The Times of India 2013/07/12

New Delhi: At least one candidate with pending criminal charges was in the running in 450 of the 545 Lok Sabha constituencies during the 2009 general election. This indicates that the Supreme Court order that disqualifies candidates who’ve been convicted could have far-reaching repercussions on the electoral process.

Data analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) says that 150 constituencies had a single candidate with pending criminal charges while as many as 56 constituencies had five or more candidates who were “tainted”. The study is based on affidavits submitted by candidates ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Despite the dominance of muscle-power in our legislatures, voters have shown discretion in choosing wisely. The study points out that given a choice in the constituencies that had only one candidate with pending criminal charges, voters rejected tainted candidates, and chose 83% of the clean candidates.

The percentage of clean winners, however, drops to around 35% in constituencies with more than 5 tainted candidates.

Data provided by these politicos in their election affidavits show that 30% have criminal cases pending against them and 14% are fighting cases that fall under serious criminal offences, most with potential sentences of over five years. We aren’t talking here of any minor crimes, these MPs are accused of murder, rape, forgery, inciting hate and dubious deals: fraud and cheating.

State assemblies are no better. About 1,258 (31%) out of the 4,032 sitting MLAs from all state assemblies have declared criminal cases and 15% have declared serious criminal charges.

Among political parties, BJP leads the charge with 118 (12%) of its elected representatives having declared that they are booked under serious criminal charges. Keeping the saffron brigade company in the accusedof-serious-crime bracket is the Congres with 107 (8%) of its MPs and MLAs fighting murder, forgery, kidnap, rape charges among others.

Legislators from parties such as Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray’s MNS, Shibu Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, and the lesser-known Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) started by ex-CM Babulal Marandi have most of their elected representatives facing criminal cases. Eight of JVM (P)’s 11 legislators are accused of criminal activities, while 77% to 80% of elected Shiv Sainiks have criminal cases against them. JMM tops, or bottoms out, this list with 80% of its elected members waiting for courts to take a call.

Looking at the data state-wise, Karnataka’s 2013 polls saw the state’s tally of tainted MPs plus MLAs at 74, while over half of Bihar assembly (58%) qualifies to be in the tainted bracket. Gujarat’s 2012 polls saw its tainted MP-MLA count reach 57, that is 31% of the total from the state. On this count, 47% of legislators from Uttar Pradesh (state polls held in 2012) have declared criminal cases, Uttarakhand (which also went to polls in 2012) has 29% elected politicos with pending criminal cases.

The only good news from states that held elections in 2012 is Mizoram, where none of the 60 elected MPs and MLAs have any criminal cases against them.

Criminals in politics2.jpg
Party-wise sitting MPs & MLAs with criminal cases (2013)

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | 82%

RJD | 64%

Samajwadi Party | 48%

BJP | 31% (Out of 1,017 BJP MPs & MLAs, 313 have criminal cases)

Congres | 21% (Out of 1,433 Cong MPs & MLAs, 305 have criminal cases)


Criminals in politics3.jpg
Madhya Pradesh: survey of 10 parliamentary constituencies

40% of AAP candidates in Madhya Pradesh have criminal records, 30% are billionaires PTI [1] | Apr 9, 2014

BHOPAL: Strange as it may seem, 30 per cent of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh are billionaires, while 40 per cent have criminal records against them.

This was revealed in an analysis of candidates for the second phase by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and MP Election Watch (MPEW).

The ten constituencies which are set to go to polls in Madhya Pradesh during the second phase of polls on April 17 are Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Bhopal and Rajgarh.

Four out of ten of Cogress and BSP nominees have criminal records against them, while only three out of 10 BJP candidates have criminal cases filed against them.

All the 10 Congres candidates are billionaires, while eight out of 10 BJP nominees, four out of 10 BSP nominees and three out of six Samajwadi Party nominees are billionaires.

Giriraj Yadav, an independent candiate from the Guna constituency has a murder case against him, while Brindawan Singh Sikarwar, the BSP candidate from Morena has an attempt to murder case pending against him

2014: 34% MPs have criminal background; an increase of 4 percentage points

Criminal14.jpg
Every third newly-elected MP has criminal background

IANS | May 18, 2014

In 2009, 30% of the Lok Sabha members had criminal cases. This has now gone up by 4%. NEW DELHI: Every third of the newly-elected member of Lok Sabha has a criminal background, an analysis of the disclosures they have made in their affidavits has shown.

An analysis of 541 of the 543 winning candidates by National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows that 186 or 34% newly elected MPs have in their election affidavits disclosed criminal cases against themselves.

In 2009, 30% of the Lok Sabha members had criminal cases. This has now gone up by 4%.

According to the analysis, a candidate with criminal cases had 13% chance of winning in the 2014 Lok Sabha election whereas it was 5% for an aspirant with a clean record.

Of the 186 new members, 112 (21%) have declared serious criminal cases, including those related to murder, attempt to murder, causing communal disharmony, kidnapping, crimes against women, etc.

Party wise, the largest numbers 98 or 35% of the 281 winners from the BJP have in their affidavits declared criminal cases against themselves.

Eight (18%) of the 44 winners from the Congres, six (16%) of the 37 winners from the AIADMK, 15 (83%) of the 18 winners from the Shiv Sena, and seven (21%) of the 34 winners fielded by Trinamool Congres also have disclosed criminal cases against themselves.

Likelihood of elected politician to be a criminal vis-a-vis the common man

1 in 30 MPs faces murder charge, for rest of India it’s only 1 in 1,061

Ratio Of Netas Accused Of Crime Far Higher Than That Of Aam Admi

Atul Thakur TIG

The Times of India 2013/09/29

Criminals in politics5.jpg
It’s often argued that criminalization of politics merely reflects the increasing criminalization of society. However, an analysis of data on Lok Sabha members facing criminal charges and official figures on crime in India show that the proportion of people facing such charges is way higher among members of Parliament in Lok Sabha than in the population as a whole. In fact, for a range of serious charges, the rate among LS members is anywhere between 20 and 200 times higher. TOI analysed data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) from affidavits filed by MPs at the time of elections and figures from the National Crime Records Bureau to come up with this sobering finding. (We added together cases pending police investigation and cases pending trial by courts to arrive at a cumulative number.)

Sample this: One in every 30 MPs elected in the 2009 general elections was facing charges of murder or related charges. On the other hand, in the populace at large, there was at worst one person per 1,061 of the same age group (aged 25 and above) facing investigations or trials for murder in 2009.

1 in 54 MPs faces kidnapping charge
Similarly, one in every 23 MPs was facing the charge of attempt to commit murder. For the population at large, the corresponding number was one among every 4,220.

MPs also convincingly outdid average Indians in kidnapping/abduction and dacoity/robbery cases. In 2009, one in every 54 MPs was facing investigation or trial for kidnapping/abduction or dacoity/robbery. The corresponding figures for the general population was one kidnapping/abduction case per 5,510 people and one dacoity/robbery case per 3,832.

When it comes to riots too, our MPs clearly stand out from the crowd. Compared to one case for every 1,436 Indians, the figure for the Lok Sabha was one in every 54. The honourable exception to this otherwise depressing pattern is rape, where the ADR data indicates that there was no pending rape case against any of the MPs elected in 2009.

For the purposes of our comparative analysis, we laid down certain parameters to get around the problem of the ADR and NCRD data not being strictly comparable. These actually worked in favour of the MPs — and without which the numbers would have been stacked even more heavily against them.

Since it would be unfair to compare crime rate for MPs, who have to be 25 years or more of age, with the entire population including children, we took only the 25-plus population of India in 2009 for comparison. That roughly halved the population figure. Unfortunately, NCRB data does not give us figures for how many of those cases are pending against those aged below 25, so we took into account all crimes, including those that would have been committed by people younger than 25. This seriously overestimates the general crime rate, since it is an established fact that nearly half of all crimes are committed by people aged between 18 and 30. Despite that, crime rate among our netas is much higher than among the general population.

Another point of difference between ADR and NCRB: The ADR data on murder-related charges against MPs includes cases under section 300, 302, 303, 304, 304A, 304B, 305, 306, 308 of IPC. The corresponding NCRB data compiled by TOI includes section 302, 304, 304A, 304B and 308. There are similar differences for other crimes. Yet, the comparison does indicate the degree of difference in criminalization in Parliament and in society at large.

Of course, it is possible that some or even a significant chunk of the charges MPs face are politically motivated. But even if 10% of them are genuine, that would still mean our lawmakers have a much higher proportion of criminals in their midst than those who elected them.

Criminals in politics are i) richer and ii) more likely to get re-elected

Bigger the criminal charge, fatter the politician’s wallet

Tainted Netas Win More Elections

Himanshi Dhawan TNN

The Times of India 2013/07/30


New Delhi: Money and muscle power not only help to win elections but also help in making politics a rather profitable affair. An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) for the last decade shows that 62,847 candidates had average assets of Rs 1.37 crore. But candidates who won elections had average assets of Rs 3.83 crore.

What’s more interesting is that the wealth of legislators who faced criminal cases rose even more — to Rs 4.30 crore — and MPs and MLAs facing serious pending charges like murder, kidnapping and rape were on top of the heap with average assets of Rs 4.38 crore.

Not only do candidates who combine the cocktail of politics, criminality and crores have a higher chance of re-contesting, they also have a better record of winning elections than candidates with a clean record, says the study. The study by ADR — a thinktank working on poll reforms — is based on affidavits filed by candidates before the Election Commission .

Of the 62,847 parliamentary and assembly candidates since 2004, 11,063 or 18% have criminal cases against them. Of these, 8% or 5,253 have declared ‘serious’ criminal cases.

CRIME PAYS FOR SOME? (statistics)
Rs.1.37cr: Average assets of 62,847 candidates who have contested MP and MLA elections since 2004

Rs.3.83cr: Average assets of victorious candidates

Rs.4.30 cr: Average wealth of MPs and MLAs who face criminal charges

4.38 cr: Average wealth of legislators facing serious charges like murder, kidnapping & rape

18%: Number of candidates facing criminal cases

8%: Number of candidates facing serious criminal cases

RS seat goes for 100cr: Cong MP
Congres MP from Haryana Birender Singh said big money was buying seats in Rajya Sabha, training focus on the malaise gripping politics. Singh is reported to have said he knew a person who had kept Rs 100 crore to become an RS MP but managed to achieve his objective with Rs 80 crore. “Not one, but I can tell you 20 (such) people,” he said. The opposition accused the Congres of “cutting deals”.

‘74% tainted candidates got a second chance’
Speaking on the study, ADR’s professor Trilochan Shastry said, “Criminalization is a fact which can’t be denied. Money plays a big role in elections and criminalization makes it worse.”

ADR also exposed the doublespeak of political parties. The analysis of criminal records of 4,181 repeat candidates shows that 1,072 of them had a criminal case the first time they contested an election and 788 had cases the second time also. This indicates that political parties gave tickets to 74% of candidates with criminal records the second time despite being aware of their dubious backgrounds.

Of the 4,181 candidates who contested more than once, 3,173 showed an increase in wealth. While the average assets of re-contesting candidates went up to Rs 2.34 crore, the average assets of the 4,181 candidates with criminal records grew from Rs 1.74 crore to Rs 4.08 crore.

The assets of all recontesting candidates have grown — to Rs 2.85 crore on average. This translates to 134% growth in declared wealth in less than five years. About 1,615 of the 4,181 candidates showed an increase of over 200%, 684 an increase of over 500%, while assets of 317 candidates increased by over 1000%.

In a break-up of political parties, 75% of Shiv Sena MPs and MLAs since 2004 have declared criminal cases against them, followed by the RJD with 46% such candidates and the JD(U) with 44%. The BJP and the Congres were at 31% and 22% respectively.

Pendency (in years) of criminal cases against MPs

50 MPs have criminal cases pending against them for more than 10 years

Ashish Tripathi,TNN | Mar 11, 2014

The Times of India

LUCKNOW: Two MPs from UP figure among the top eight parliamentarians against whom criminal cases are pending for more than 20 years in the law courts, reveals an analysis done by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-government body working for transparency and probity in elections.

The two MPs are BJP's Ramakant Yadav from Azamgarh, and SP's Ramkishun from Chandauli. Yadav is an accused in a murder case which is pending in the court for the past 25 years. Ramkishun is accused in a robbery case pending for the past 24 years.

The ADR in association with the National Election Watch (NEW) did the analysis following the directions of the Supreme Court. The SC on Monday had directed that the criminal cases against MPs and MLAs be completed within a year from the date of framing of charges by the trial court.

Types of criminal cases against MPs

The ADR and NEW analyzed the affidavits of the Lok Sabha MPs elected in 2009. It found that 50 Lok Sabha MPs from 2009 have a total of 136 criminal cases pending against them for ten years or more. Similarly, 30 Lok Sabha MPs have a total of 58 serious criminal cases pending against them for ten years or more.

The study also revealed that there are five Lok Sabha MPs who have declared a total of 14 cases of murder which have been pending for ten years or more. Kameshwar Baitha of JMM has declared 10 cases of murder against himself which have been pending for an average of 12 years. Guddu Premchand of Cogress from Ujjain Constituency, Madhya Pradesh, has declared a case of murder which has been pending 29 years.

Further, there are nine Lok Sabha MPs who have a total of 14 cases of attempt to murder against them which have been pending for more than 10 years. Kameshwar Baitha of JMM has six cases of attempt to murder against him which have been pending for an average of 11 years. Venugopala Reddy Modugula of TDP from Narasaraopet vonstituency has a case of attempt to murder which has been pending for 23 years.

There are 20 Lok Sabha MPs who have declared a total of 30 cases of kidnapping and wrongful confinement which have been pending for 10 years or more. Kameshwar Baitha of JMM has declared seven cases of kidnapping and wrongful confinement which have been pending for an average of 14 years. Kalmadi Suresh of Cogress from Pune Constituency has declared a case of wrongful confinement for three or more days which has been pending for 28 years.

There are four Lok Sabha MPs who have declared a total of four cases of robbery and dacoity which have been pending for more than 10 years.

The ADR has also issued an appeal for the people: "While the judiciary has taken very important steps including July 10 2013 judgment which debarred elected representatives from continuing in office after conviction to decriminalize politics, political parties have continued to field candidates with serious criminal cases because of their 'winnability' factor. In this scenario, the role of citizens becomes pre-eminent. The upcoming Lok Sabha elections gives us the opportunity to elect clean and more accountable MPs."

Serious criminal cases pending for the maximum duration:

29 years Murder: Guddu Premchand of Cogress from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh 28 years

Rioting and Theft: Adhikari Sisir Kumar of AITC from Kanthi, West Bengal

25 years Murder: Ramakant Yadav of BJP from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh

24 years Attempt to Commit Robbery: Ramkishun of SP from Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh. Concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war: Gandhi Dilipkumar Mansukhlal of BJP from Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.

23 years Attempt to Murder: Venugopala Reddy Modugula of TDP from Narasaraopet, Andhra Pradesh.

20 years Murder: Kameshwar Baitha of JMM from Palamau Constituency, Jharkhand.

Attempt to Murder: Abdul Mannan Hossain of Cogress from Murshidabad, West Bengal

Trials against MPs in serious cases continue for 7 years on an average

Himanshi Dhawan | TNN

The Times of India

New Delhi: Cases of murder or kidnapping against parliamentarians remain pending in trial courts for an average of 7 years and if you’re Ujjain MP Guddu Premchand, it could even be 29 years.

In the current Lok Sabha, 30 parliamentarians charged with serious offences like murder are yet to stand trial for the last 10 years, an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms has found. These are among the 76 MPs facing serious criminal charges.

No wonder then that the one-year deadline set by the Supreme Court to try legislators with serious criminal charges has left politicians a worried lot. Congres parliamentarian Premchand has a case of murder pending against him for the longest period of time, 29 years, according to ADR.

Premchand in a statement denied the charge, saying he had no pending cases against him and the report was an effort to malign his political image. ADR’s data is based on 2009 election affidavits filed by candidates with the Election Commission and TOI has not verified it independently.

Among other MPs who have long pending cases against them include Trinamool MP from Kanthi in West Bengal Sisir Kumar Adhikari who has cases of riot and theft pending since 28 years while BJP’s Ramakant Yadav from Azamgarh in UP has a case of murder pending against him for the last 25 years.

SP’s Ramkishun was accused of attempted robbery 24 years ago while BJP MP Dilipkumar Mansukhlal Gandhi from Maharashtra has a case of concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage a war for a similar period. This list includes Congres MP from Pune Suresh Kalmadi who has a case of wrongful confinement for three or more days which has been pending for 28 years.

Andhra Pradesh’s Venugopal Reddy Modugula has a 23-year-old case of attempt to murder while Kameshwar Baitha of JMM has a 20-yearold murder case pending against him. Congres MP from West Bengal Abdul Mannan Hossain has a 20-year-old case of attempt to murder pending against him.

There are 14 Lok Sabha MPs who occupy a special place in the hall of shame with 14 cases of murder or attempt to murder which have been pending for 10 years or more against them. These include Baitha and Guddu Premchand.

These are followed closely by 20 MPs who have declared a total of 30 cases of kidnapping and wrongful confinement which have been pending for 10 years or more. There are four Lok Sabha MPs who have declared a total of four cases of robbery and dacoity which have been pending for more than 10 years.


Trials against tainted MPs and MLAs to be completed within a year: SC

Finish trial against tainted MPs and MLAs in a year: SC

Cases Of Graft, Heinous Crimes Fast-Tracked

Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN

The Times of India

New Delhi: After ordering disqualification of MPs and MLAs immediately after conviction for heinous offences, the Supreme Court on Monday took a second big step towards cleansing the political process by directing that trial proceedings in cases of corruption and serious crimes against elected representatives must be completed within a year.

The apex court’s July 10, 2013 judgment had robbed elected representatives of the benefit under Section 8(4) of Representative of People Act which allowed them to save their membership in respective Houses by merely filing an appeal within three months of the order of conviction.

However, “tainted” MPs and MLAs drew some comfort from the snail-paced judicial process, hoping that cases against them would linger indefinitely, or that they could use delaying tactics in order to prevent the court from reaching a final conclusion about their alleged guilt and pronounce a judgment.

The order, passed by a bench of Justices R M Lodha and Kurian Joseph on Monday, ends the last hope of MPs and MLAs of evading early adjudication and a possible conviction resulting in a sentence of two years or more, which generally follows in a corruption case or in serious offences. CLEANING UP POLITICS

Trial proceedings in cases of corruption and serious crimes against MPs and MLAs will have to be completed within a year of charges being framed

All trial courts must adhere to one-year deadline. If they overshoot, they’ll have to give written explanation to chief justice of HC concerned

On July 10, 2013, SC had ruled that MPs/MLAs would immediately lose their seat in case of conviction

But lawmakers facing cases could still hope for them to drag on for years. The SC has now closed this loophole 76 MPs face serious charges

The SC order could adversely impact the future of many politicians. As many as 76 (14%) of the 543 MPs have serious charges pending against them. Similarly, 1,258 or 31% of the total 4,032 MLAs across India have criminal cases against them, with 14% facing serious charges. P 15 Deadline to start after framing of charges

In an interim order on a PIL by NGO ‘Public Interest Foundation’, an SC bench said, “Where sitting MPs and MLAs are facing corruption cases and other serious offences, the trial will be completed expeditiously on a day-today basis and in no instance later than one year from the date of framing of charges.”

This means, those who get elected in the coming general elections and have pending criminal and corruption cases against them, the verdict will be out before May next year. If found guilty and sentenced to more than two years imprisonment, they will immediately lose their membership. This order will also have a sanitizing effect on political parties and ensure that they do not field candidates with criminal background.

The bench directed all trial courts, which are hearing cases of corruption and serious offences against MPs and MLAs, to strictly adhere to the one-year limit from framing of charges and warned that if they overshot the deadline, then they would have to give written explanation to the chief justice of the high court concerned.

“In extraordinary circumstances, where the trial court is not being able to conclude the trial within one year of framing charges, it would submit a report to the chief justice of the concerned HC indicating the special reasons for the delay. The chief justice may issue appropriate directions to the concerned court for extension of time for conclusion of trial,” said Justices Lodha and Joseph after additional solicitor general Paras Kuad agreed with the court’s view on behalf of the Centre.

The bench took framing of charge as the starting point for fixing one-year time period for completion of trial keeping in mind the law commission’s recommendation that filing of chargesheet “is not an appropriate stage to introduce electoral disqualifications”.

The commission said there was not sufficient application of judicial mind to the charges levelled by the investigating agency at the time of filing of chargesheet.

However, it recommended that framing of charges involved application of judicial mind to the charges and evidence.

The commission in its recommendation to the Union government on February 24 proposed disqualification of MPs and MLAs if a trial court framed charges against them in cases of corruption or heinous offences.

Time limit on netas’ trials at odds with earlier SC ruling?

7-Judge Bench Had Said Such A Bar Wasn’t Judicially Permissible

Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN

The Times of India

New Delhi: By fixing a oneyear limit for completion of trial against elected representatives, did a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court overstep a seven-judge constitution bench ruling that no outer limit could be set for conclusion of criminal proceedings?

There were several judgments before 2002, in which different benches of the apex court had fixed definite time periods for completion of trial and had ordered that if it overshot the limit, the trial would come to an end and the accused would be acquitted.

All these judgments and their correctness were tested by a seven-judge bench in P Ramachandra Rao vs State of Karnataka [(2002) 4 SCC 578]. The bench ruled, “It is neither advisable, nor feasible, nor judicially permissible to draw or prescribe an outer limit for conclusion of all criminal proceedings.

“The time limits or bars of limitation prescribed in the several directions made in Common Cause (I), Raj Deo Sharma (I) and Raj Deo Sharma (II) could not have been so prescribed or drawn and are not good law. The criminal courts are not obliged to terminate trial or criminal proceedings merely on account of lapse of time, as prescribed by the directions made in Common Cause case (I), Raj Deo Sharma case (I) and (II). Such time limits cannot and will not by themselves be treated by any court as a bar to further continuance of the trial or proceedings and as mandatorily obliging the court to terminate the same and acquit or discharge the accused.”

Monday’s order by a bench of Justices R M Lodha and Kurian Joseph stayed within the parameters laid down in the seven-judge bench’s judgment by clarifying that corruption case and heinous offence trial proceedings against MPs and MLAs would not be terminated on expiry of the oneyear period.

It said if under extraordinary circumstances the trial proceedings could not be completed within the prescribed one-year time limit, the trial judge would send a report to the chief justice of the high court concerned explaining reasons for non-completion of proceedings. The bench said the chief justice would give appropriate directions after going through the trial judge’s report.

Justices Lodha and Joseph said it was the right of every accused in criminal case to get expeditious trial. “For that to become a reality, the governments must provide more number of judges,” it said and requested additional solicitor general Paras Kuhad to impress upon the government to increase the strength of trial judges.

It said in some countries the judge to population ratio was 50 per lakh but in India it was abysmally low at 16 per million (10 lakh). The budgetary allocation too was meagre, it said. “All trials should be completed in one year, why only for MPs and MLAs? But for that the governments need to give more funds and provide adequate judicial infrastructure,” it said.

2012-14: Ministers allegedly involved in criminal cases

90% of T-ministers face criminal charges

New Delhi:

TIMES NEWS NETWORK The Times of India Aug 30 2014


Ministers with Pending Criminal Cases
12 Union Ministers Have Pending Criminal Cases

About 44 of the 194 state cabinet ministers from 13 Assemblies (where elections were conducted in the last two years: 2012-14) and 12 out of 45 Union ministers [in 2014] have criminal cases pending against them.

The figures have been arrived at by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch which analysed the election affidavits of 239 of the 245 ministers.

In the states, 26 or 13% ministers have serious criminal charges, including rape, attempt to murder, kidnapping or electoral violations against them.

For instance, there are two ministers from BJP in the Rajasthan cabinet -Gulab Chand Kataria and Rajendra Rathore -with cases of murder pending against them. Odisha's Prafulla Kumar Mallik (BJD) also faces a kidnapping charge.

TDP's Ganta Srinivas Rao from Andhra and TRS ministers Thanneeru Harish Rao, Eatala Rajender and Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy from Telangana have declared that attempt to murder cases are pending against them.

Incidentally, Telangana has the highest percentage -90 -of ministers facing criminal charges. India's newest state is followed by Andhra Pradesh, where more than half of the ministers have criminal cases (56%), followed by Karnataka (34%) and Odisha (27%).

In fact, the only two chief ministers who face criminal charges come from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: K Chandrasekhar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu.

States where no ministers face criminal charges include Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

States that were considered for the report include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and Telangana.

2015: SC-Unseating if criminal cases cancelled

The Times of India

Feb 06 2015

Amit Choudhary

Non-disclosure of pending criminal cases at the time of filing nomination paper can cost an elected member his seat with the Supreme Court ruling that it amounts to corrupt practice and the election must be quashed on that ground. In a landmark verdict, a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant held that concealment or suppression of criminal cases tantamounts to “fraud“ with the electorate and it creates an impediment in the free exercise of electoral right.

“As the candidate has the special knowledge of the pending cases where cognizance has been taken or charges have been framed and there is a non-disclosure on his part, it would amount to undue influence and, therefore, the election is to be declared null and void by the Election Tribunal,“ it said.

It said that disclosure of criminal antecedents of a candidate, especially pertaining to heinous or serious offence or offences relating to corruption or moral turpitude at the time of filing of nomination paper, is a “categorical imperative“. The bench said that an informed electorate is the foundation of a vibrant and healthy democracy and they have a right to know about criminal antecedents of people in the fray . It said non-disclosure of criminal cases by a candidate is an attempt to suppress, misguide and keep people in the dark.

“Concealment or sup pression of this nature deprives the voters to make an informed and advised choice as a consequence of which it would come within the compartment of direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere with the free exercise of the right to vote by the electorate, on the part of the candidate,“ it said. “This attempt undeniably and undisputedly is undue influence and, therefore, amounts to corrupt practice,“ it said.

“The attempt has to be perceived as creating an impediment in the mind of a voter, who is expected to vote to make a free, informed and advised choice,“ it said.

2015:no serious charges against MLAs

The Times of India

Feb 12 2015

No Delhi MLAs face murder, rape charges

The new Delhi assembly is `cleaner' compared to its earlier avatar with a dip in the number of legislators with criminal cases, according to an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms, reports Himanshi Dhawan. Though the percentage of MLAs with criminal cases has dropped marginally from 36% to 34%, none of them have pending serious criminal cases such as rape, kidnapping and murder. Of the 24 MLAs with criminal cases against them, 23 belong to AAP . Of the 70 legislators, 44 (63%) are crorepatis compared to 51 (73%) in 2013.

Haryana, Jharkhand and J&K assemblies, elected in 2014, also saw a drop in the number of MLAs with criminal antecedents.

The Times of India

2015 Assembly also has fewer crorepatis

Feb 12 2015

Himanshi Dhawan

The 2015 Delhi assembly is cleaner and poorer compared to its 2013 avatar with a dip in the number of crorepati legislators and those with criminal cases. The assembly elected on Tuesday is overwhelmingly dominated by Aam Aadmi Party with 67 members while BJP has three. The percentage of legislators with criminal cases has dropped marginally from 36% to 34% while the figure for crorepatis has come down from 73% to 63%.

Significantly, none of the MLAs have serious criminal cases like rape, kidnapping and murder pending against them.

The analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) is based on affidavits submitted by candidates to the Election Commission.

In contrast, both the number of crorepatis and those with criminal cases increased in the 2014 Maharashtra polls.

While crorepati MLAs increased from 66% in 2009 to 88% in 2014, the number of legislators with criminal background increased from 136 (52%) to 165 (57%) in the same period. Haryana, Jharkhand and J&K assemblies, which were elected in 2014, also saw a drop in the number of legislators with criminal antecedents. However, there was a substantial increase in the number of moneybags in all three. In Delhi, 24 of the 70 MLAs (34%) have declared criminal cases against themselves. Of these, 23 belong to AAP while one is from BJP. This is down from the 2013 assembly when 25 (36%) MLAs declared criminal cases pending against them. In the 2008 Delhi assembly elections, 29 (43%) out of 68 MLAs had declared criminal cases.

No MLA declared heinous criminal cases like murder, rape, attempt to murder and crimes against women. Incidentally, 91 out of 673 candidates with criminal cases, including 60 candidates with charges of heinous crimes pending against them, lost the assembly polls.

Delhi MLAs this time are a shade poorer as well. Of the 70 MLAs, 44 (63%) are crorepatis this year compared to 51 (73%) in 2013 and 47 (69%) in the 2008 polls.

The average assets per MLA has also dipped from Rs 10.83 crore in 2013 to Rs 6.29 crore this time. BJP had won 32 seats compared to AAP's 28 in the 2013 elections.

Parliament, not Judiciary can debar

The Times of India Feb 19 2015

Parliament, not us, can bar tainted netas from contesting polls: SC

Amit Choudhary

The Supreme Court said the Judiciary could not restrain tainted people from contesting elections as it falls under the legislature's domain, which alone was competent to enact a law on this issue. A bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu said the idea of restraining people against whom charges of heinous offence has been framed looked “attractive and noble“ but the court has its limitations. “In the name of judicial activism, we cannot enter into an area belonging to Parliament. Separation of pow er is a basic structure of Constitution and we must respect it,“ the bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri and Arun Mishra, said. “It is for Parliament to decide.They know how to run the country and who should run for election. We should not step in,“ it added.

Additional solicitor general Maninder Singh said the issue had already been settled by a constitution bench judgment of the apex court, which had refused to restrain the government from appointing tainted MPs and MLAs as ministers and left the matter to the conscience of the prime minister and chief ministers.

Backing the ASG's submission, the bench said when the constitution bench had refused to pass an order against appointment of tainted representatives in the council of ministers, how it could pass an order pre venting tainted persons from contesting elections.

The bench also said that in criminal jurisprudence, a person is presumed innocent till he is convicted and his right to contest elections cannot be curtailed just because charges were framed against him.

Samina Bano

Coming from a privileged background to working for underprivileged, Samina Bano has ensured hundreds of poor children get admission under RTE in Uttar Pradesh
By Waris Ali, TwoCircles.net
Lucknow: When a diminutive girl in her late twenties took small steps to address a gathering in Chief Minister’s residence here, no one thought that soon she will give sleepless nights to big school giants in Uttar Pradesh.
Samina Bano, now heading the Bharat Abhyudaya Foundation (BAF) in a span of six months did what even Uttar Pradesh government could not achieve in a year. In 2014-15, only 54 poor students were given free admission in schools under the economically weaker section (EWS) quota under Right To Education (RTE) Act. After her crusade, the number in 2015-16 has swelled to over 1,300 and is still counting. Among those admitted, nearly half the children are from minority community.
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Samina Banoo
Not an easy task as during her efforts, she rubbed several high and mighty in the wrong way. City Montessori School (CMS), which boasts of holding a Guinness Book of World Records for highest number of students studying in a school in one city, denied admission to as many as 31 poor students. After her persuasion failed, Samina did not hesitate to protest on road. Lucknow witnessed something un-usual as nobody at the CMS ever thought in their wildest dream that people will stage dharna outside their office. The battle is still on and is presently in court.
From a privileged background to working for underprivileged, the journey has been a long one for Samina. Her father retired as a warrant officer from the Indian Air Force while her mother has been a homemaker. She has two brothers, one elder, one younger. “Being an Air Force kid, I have spent childhood in many cities such as Delhi, Pune, Bagdogra, Belgaum, Srinagar in Air Force campuses. My schooling was done throughout at Kendriya Vidyalayas, although thanks to my father’s transfers, I changed six schools from class 1 to 12,” Samina shares.
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BAF chairperson Samina Bano talking to My School My Voice students and discussing their future aspirations
And her bio-data may give run for their money to several professionals. Armed with management degree from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore along with a B Tech from Government College of Engineering, Pune, Samina had a settled corporate life. Till 2012, she was working as a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting LLP (S&O) based at Philadelphia in USA. In her own words — “it was a spontaneous decision, I hung my boots and formed BAF.”
“The mission is more important — poor children also have a right to study respectfully,” she says. With her, she had five years of experience of working in other organisations like Texas Instruments and Proctor and Gamble at India and Singapore. From earning a hefty package, she is dependent on donations from her colleagues for her mission now.
In two years, there has been no looking back. She may feel paucity of funds but the courage never lets her down. It is due to her sincere efforts that now her name is synonymous with RTE in UP. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav realised her efforts and gave her all freedom to do her work deviating from set pattern of government functioning.
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Children along with their parents lined up outside CMS Indira Nagar to take admission under RTE's EWS quota
Samina, after her umpteen meetings with him, turned her focus towards primary education in Uttar Pradesh. It was tough, though RTE was applicable but not effectively implemented. Private schools did not pay heed to the rules while education department had no zeal to act. Touring across the state, she held several meetings with district level education officials and district administration. Even private schools were invited, some came, others overlooked.
But where are the children?
With the stage set, there was a problem in getting children to the schools. It is generally hard to locate poor children whose parents will allow them to attend school. With her own resources, she started collecting data and even filling admission forms. “The numbers were less in the beginning but slowly it picked. Now, even some prestigious schools have agreed and offer admission to poor students,” she informs.
Even today, at her two room rented office in Gomti Nagar, application forms are available for free, even a missed call is sufficient for enrolling a student as Samina's few staff members rush to locate the child after collecting information. Seeing her efforts, CM Yadav has extended the date for admissions under the RTE on her request to accommodate more children. “There was a situation when officials used to avoid me saying that she will again talk about RTE. But I persisted,” she says.
Not only RTE but another of her campaign also earned accolades in the society. My School My Voice, a campaign conceived by her was endorsed, again, by CM Yadav in presence of hundreds of school children who had for the first time visited the CM residence.
The campaign in simple words — engaging school children for their schools. Getting children to say something about their school, the problems, the facilities and even teachers. Yadav attentively listened and the result — two teachers were served warning for skipping schools and schools were provided RO drinking water after students raised these issues.
“The journey is still a long way as 25 % of seats are to be reserved for poor students. I am focusing on that, getting few thousands admitted is good, but still the number can be higher,” Samina says.
More details about Samina Bano’s work through her Bharat Abhyudaya Foundation can be read here Bharat Abhyudaya Foundation .You can also visit the Facebook page of BAF here Bharat Abhyudaya Foundation.
TCN Readers can also call BAF at 0522 – 4130429 or write to them at bharatabhyudaya@gmail.com
Related:

Azhar Maqsusi



Ordinary people who do extraordinary things inspire the rest of us. They are the real heroes, making the world a better place, one step at a time. Azhar Maqsusi is one such hero. He modest businessman in Hyderabad, Azhar has been feeding homeless people in his region for over 3 years.

Every afternoon a large number of homeless, destitute people line up under the Dabeerpura Bridge in Hyderabad. They collect plates, wash them and wait patiently for the food provided for them by Azhar every day.

Azhar recounts how he began his free-food camp venture, “It all started around three years ago. I hardly ever took that route but my tyre got punctured that day and I decided to catch the local train from the station under the bridge when I saw a physically handicapped woman with her feet amputated,” The woman was crying loudly, begging for food and not money; she hadn’t eaten in days. Azhar immediately gave her the food he’d packed for the day. “My father died when I was 4 years old and my mother struggled a lot to raise me and my siblings. I know what it is like to sleep hungry.”

The next day Azhar’s wife cooked extra food so that he could go back to the same place and distribute food. Initially food packets were distributed but as time progressed the food was cooked on spot, under the bridge.

In 2 months there were more than 50 people waiting for Azhar every day. It was then that he decided to hire a cook for this venture, paying him a fixed salary so that he could regularly cook large quantities. Azhar paid for everything from his own pocket, not asking for anything in return.

A year and a half later Azhar’s venture got a boost when an Indian national living in the US decided to help him. Today, Azhar receives 16 25-kg sacks of rice every month from his well-wishers. He rejects any cash donations and accepts only those in kind.

Today over 100 homeless people are fed by Azhar. Nearly 25 kg rice, 1 litre oil and 2 kg pulses are required every day. It costs  Rs. 1500 – Rs. 1700 daily, but Azhar paid for everything from his own pocket, not asking for anything in return.

The Logical Indian community salutes the generosity and compassion of people like Azhar Maqsusi.

The story was first reported by Deccan Chronicle, the link of which is part of the story.

Image Courtesy


Ram Meghval


दलित RTI ऐक्टिविस्ट बाबू ‘राम मेघवाल’ को गंजा कर पिलाया पेशाब
जैसलमेर।स्कूल में पढ़ाने के साथ-साथ आरटीआई ऐक्टिविस्ट के तौर पर काम करने वाले एक शख्स का कुछ युवकों ने अपहरण किया और उसे जबरन पेशाब पिलाया।शनिवार शाम हुए इस वाकये में अपहरणकर्ताओं ने इस दलित ऐक्टिविस्ट को गंजा भी किया उसे मारा-पीटा और फिर एक नहर के पास छोड़ कर चले गए।आरटीआई ऐक्टिविस्ट को गंभीर हालत में जैसलमेर लाया गया और वहां से जोधपुर रेफर कर दिया गया।मामले की जांच कर रही पुलिस फरार बदमाशों की तलाश कर रही है।रामगढ़ में रहने वाले इस आरटीआई ऐक्टिविस्ट का नाम बाबू राम मेघवाल है जो भारत-पाक सीमा के पास रनाऊ मिडल स्कूल में टीचर है।मेघवाल ने बयान दिया कि रामगढ़ से रनाऊ लौटते समय गाड़ी में सवार लगभग एक दर्जन लोगों ने उसका अपहरण किया उसके बाल काट दिए और फिर उसे नहर के पास ले गए।मास्क लगाए हुए लोगों ने उसे छड़ी से पीटा और पेशाब पिलाया।इसके बाद जब वो लोग ऐक्टिविस्ट को नहर में फेंकने वाले थे, तभी वहां कुछ और लोग आ गए। इसके बाद मास्क पहने हुए लोग भाग गए।दूसरे लोगों ने बाबू राम को रामगढ़ के हॉस्पिटल में भर्ती कराया। मेघवाल ने कहा कि इन सारी चीजों के बावजूद वह आरटीआई ऐप्लिकेशन लगाना जारी रखेगा।मेघवाल की लगाई हुई आरटीआई की वजह से कई फर्जी नियुक्तियां रद्द की गई थीं जिससे कई लोग उससे नाराज थे और धमकी दे रहे थे। इससे पहले शुक्रवार को भी उसे हत्या की धमकी दी गई थी। कई सामाजिक कार्यकर्ताओं ने दोषियों के खिलाफ कड़ी कार्रवाई की मांग की है।मेघवाल के समुदाय के लोगों में भी इस घटना के बाद से काफी रोष है। उन्होंने विरोध जताने के लिए रोड जाम कर दी और टायर जलाए।