Supreme Court told 14 state chief ministers face serious criminal charges

In a detailed submission to the Supreme Court, amicus curiae and senior advocate Vijay Hansaria revealed that chief ministers in 14 of India's 28 states are confronting serious criminal accusations, with Telangana's A Revanth Reddy topping the list at 89 cases. Other leaders named include Suvendu Adhikari of West Bengal (29 cases), D Shivakumar of Karnataka (19), N Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh (19), V D Satheesan of Kerala (18), and several others with fewer counts.

The report also noted that the highest proportion of MLAs with serious charges is in West Bengal (58%), followed by Kerala (57%) and Andhra Pradesh (56%). At the national level, 170 Lok Sabha members (31% of the house) and 75 Rajya Sabha members (33%) have criminal cases pending, amounting to 4,192 cases against sitting or former legislators, with Uttar Pradesh contributing 1,171 cases. Hansaria recommended that the Supreme Court designate special courts exclusively for trying legislators and direct high courts to monitor trial progress actively. The filing underscores the extensive criminal case burden on India's elected officials.