Jaipur: Rajasthan govt Monday told the high court that pending criminal cases against MPs and MLAs, which are under the jurisdiction of the state police, have been included in the case officer scheme, who will monitor the cases on day-on-day basis. The govt said case officers have been appointed for all such criminal cases.Advocate General Rajendra Prasad told the bench of Justice Indrajeet Singh and Justice Ravi Chiraniya that case officers have already been appointed for these matters. He further said that while most cases are being monitored under the scheme, some fall under the jurisdiction of the CBI and are being investigated by the central agency.After hearing the state govt, the division bench scheduled the next hearing for the first week of Jan next year. Earlier, high court instructed concerned trial courts to expedite trial processes in all pending criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs. It also directed the state govt to submit a detailed chart indicating how long each case has been pending and its current status.Appearing on behalf of the state govt, Prasad informed the court that all such cases are now taken under the case officers’ scheme, and nodal officers from the police are tracking the progress of these cases. These directions align with the Supreme Court’s Nov 2023 order, in which the apex court issued guidelines for the strict monitoring of cases involving elected public representatives.The Supreme Court also directed all chief justices of high courts across the country to take suo motu cognizance of such matters, oversee cases being tried at district or special courts, seek periodic reports from trial courts, and establish special courts if required to ensure faster disposal.
