Jaipur: Taking a strict stance on pending criminal cases against former and sitting lawmakers, the Rajasthan High Court has asked the high court administration and government to submit a detailed action plan to expedite the trial and case disposal.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice SP Sharma and Justice Bhuvan Goel issued this order in compliance with the Supreme Court directives on ensuring the speedy conclusion of criminal cases against elected representatives.
The Supreme Court had directed the Chief Justice of the High Court to register the case as a suo motu cognizance and monitor the courts hearing these cases.
The court asked the High Court administration and state government to outline exactly what steps are being taken for the speedy disposal of these long-standing trials. The court has instructed government lawyers to avoid seeking unnecessary adjournments.
In response to court queries, the state government informed the court that police-investigated cases have been placed under a dedicated “Case Officer Scheme” to track progress, although matters handled by the CBI are outside this administrative loop.
A status report was also presented to the High Court that revealed that 41 criminal cases are currently pending against current and former MLAs and MPs of the state. This tally includes one Union Minister, five Rajasthan state cabinet ministers, 15 sitting MLAs, and 13 former MLAs.
As per the report, some prominent leaders include Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister Kirodi Lal Meena, Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra, and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, facing charges ranging from defamation and unlawful assembly to corruption.
The report states that a case against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been pending in Jodhpur's ADJ Court-1 since 2023 and is at the hearing stage. Similarly, a case against Agriculture Minister Dr. Kirori Lal Meena has been pending in the Thanagazi ACJM Court since 2022, and another case has been pending in the Railway Court. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and Minister of State for Home Affairs Jawahar Singh Bedham have been pending in Jaipur's ADJ Court-4 in the Gopalgarh case since 2012. Similarly, a case against UDH Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra has been pending in the ACD Court since 2021, which is under a stay from the High Court.
In addition, one case has been pending against Water Supply Minister Kanhaiyalal Choudhary in the ACJM Court in Malpura since 2023 and against State Energy Minister Hiralal Nagar in the Judicial Magistrate Court of Kota district since July 2023. Among the MLAs, cases are pending against BJP's Jitendra Gothwal, Jaideep Bihani, Gopal Sharma, Kalicharan Saraf, Shanta Devi, Rajendra Gurjar, and Congress's Shanti Dhariwal, Kanti Prasad Meena, Ashok Chandna, Ramnivas Gavadia, and Lalit Yadav and independent MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati and BAP's Umesh Damor.
