Srinagar, Aug 10: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has sought the latest information on the cases pending investigation or trial against sitting and former Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) in Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice (Acting) Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Mohd Yousuf Wani asked the two UTs to file updated status reports while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on its own motion.
The suo moto PIL has been registered pursuant to directions of the Supreme Court for monitoring criminal cases pending against sitting and former legislators.
The court noted that the J&K Home Department’s status report dated July 30, 2025, indicated the progress made in the cases.
A similar report had been filed by the Home Department of Ladakh on February 17, 2023, it said.
Observing that “much water has flown since the reports were filed,” the Bench said that there must have been further progress in the matters.
With these remarks, the court directed the UTs to place updated status reports on record by September 9, the next date of hearing.
The PIL was registered by the High Court in 2021 following the Supreme Court’s directions on September 16, 2020, to Chief Justices of High Courts to constitute special benches and monitor the progress of criminal cases pending against sitting and former legislators.
The Supreme Court had stressed that such cases, including those involving allegations of corruption and money laundering, should not remain pending indefinitely because of interim stays or repeated adjournments.
The apex court had also directed that, where required, hearings should proceed on a day-to-day basis and that petitions seeking quashing of criminal trials be decided expeditiously.
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