Alka Verma –
Published on: November 26, 2021 at 14:40 IST
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court reserved its order regarding formation of Special Courts to deal with minor offences against MPs/MLAs. The Bench made this statement after observing that it’s earlier order to form Special Sessions Court was misinterpreted and misconceived by the Allahabad High Court,
A Bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant stated that it will direct the High Courts to constitute Special Magisterial Courts where all the cases from Special Sessions Courts will be transferred and will be carried forward.
“The Sessions Court cannot take the case to be tried by magistrates,” stated the Bench.
The Bench also reserved its order regarding the matter that whether the minor offences against MPs/MLAs, which can be tried in a Magisterial Court, can be prosecuted before a Special Court which will be presided by a Sessions Judge who is senior to a Judicial Magistrate, or not.
“We are contemplating this order. Let the High Court set up Special Magistrate Court where such Courts are not there. The cases which were being tried by the Special Sessions Courts will be transferred to the Magistrates’ Court. They will be heard from the stage where they were before the Sessions Court. We think this is the only way to solve the problem,” stated the Court.
The Court made all these directions while dealing with a application filed by politician Abdullah Azam Khan, the son of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan. In his application before the court , he stated that he has been prosecuted by a Special Court, presided over by a Sessions Judge, which should have been dealt by Magistrates as they were minor offences.
The Court after hearing this got irritated as the Allahabad High Court didn’t obey the order of Apex Court and did not set up a Special Magisterial Court for the concerned matter.
Accordingly, the Bench also stated that it had given the liberty to set numbers of Special Courts in the state and it never said that no Special Magisterial Court was to be constituted.
It should be noted here that Vijay Hansaria, who was assisting the Bench as an Amicus curiae, stated that Special Courts formed by Apex Court for disposal of cases against MPs and MLAs, are valid and no illegality can be attached to trial of cases by these Courts against lawmakers.
