Manipur High Court: In a criminal petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (‘CrPC’) for quashing and setting aside the order passed by the Special Court for MPs/MLAs, Manipur and quash the pending criminal case, A. Guneshwar Sharma, J. answered the question that whether the Special Court for MPs/MLAs has jurisdiction to try offences committed by former/sitting legislature when he/she was not an elected member, in affirmative. The Court held that the Special Court for MPs/MLAs, have jurisdiction to try all cases against the former and sitting legislatures irrespective of their status at the time of commission of such offences.
Factual Matrix
In the matter at hand, the respondent/ complainant filed his nomination paper for the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly Election on 09-02-2022 and 10-02-2022. The present petitioner/ accused, a former MLA submitted an objection to the complainant’s nomination paper on the ground of non-disclosure of a pending First Information Report (‘FIR’). The Returning Officer rejected the said objection vide Order dated 14-02-2022 on the ground that it was not enough for rejection of the complainant’s candidature. The said FIR against the complainant was filed by the petitioner’s son (‘accused No. 2’). The complainant’s case was that the accused persons defamed the complainant with publication of the defamatory statement in oral and written form and on various occasions while carrying out election campaign amongst the public.
The complainant filed a criminal case before the Special Court for MLA/MP against the accused persons for continuously defaming the complainant before the public. Summons were issued to the accused persons on 12-05-2022.
Thereafter, the accused persons filed an application before the Special Court for MPs/MLAs under Section 203 of the CrPC seeking rejection of the criminal complaint filed against them on the ground of maintainability, that the designated Court of Special Court for MP/MLA cannot try the case as none of the parties were MP/MLA at the time of the commission of the offence. In the impugned order, dated 04-07-02022, the Special Court held that the jurisdiction of the Special Court for MP/ MLAs extends not only to the sitting MLA/MP but also to the former MLA/MP. Hence, the present criminal petition.
Issue for consideration
Whether the Special Court for MPs/MLAs has jurisdiction to try offences committed by former/sitting legislature when he/she was not an elected member?
Analysis and Decision
The Court noted that three circumstances have been postulated by the Court under which the offences may be committed by members of both, the Parliament and the State Assembly:
- Offence was committed by the individual when he was neither a former nor sitting Legislature;
- Offence committed by a former Legislature;
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Offence committed by a sitting Legislature.
The Court cited Kolusu Partha Sarathy v. State of A.P., 2021 SCC OnLine AP 4466, wherein, a very restrictive definition of the phrase “elected Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly” was taken, and it was held that the Special Court would have jurisdiction to try offences by former/sitting legislatures provided that on the date of the offences, they were sitting legislatures. Therefore, the Court said that the crucial test is that the former and sitting MPs/MLAs should be sitting legislatures at the time of commission of the offence.
Further, the Court relied on Manjinder Singh Sirsa v. State of NCT of Delhi, 2024 SCC Online Del 70, whereby, it was held that “the Special Courts were constituted to try offences alleged against sitting or former MPs/MLAs, and the Apex Court nowhere observed that the Special Courts shall try only those offences where accused was a sitting MP/MLA, at the time of commission of offence”. It was held that the Special Courts shall have the jurisdiction over the offences committed by former MPs/MLAs and pending against them.
The Court perused the Notification dated 13-10-2020 issued by the Government of Manipur constituting two Special Courts for MPs/MLAs to conduct trials of cases and said that it was crystal clear that such Courts will have jurisdiction over offences “against former and sitting Legislatures (MPs/MLAs)”. Further, the Court said that there was nothing in the Notification to the effect that such Courts will have jurisdiction over the cases against former and sitting Legislatures provided they were sitting MPs/MLAs at the time of the commission of the offences. The Court also noted that the Notification stipulated that the Special Courts for MPs/ MLAs will have jurisdiction as original and transferred Courts.
The Court added that the Special Courts established to try cases of former and sitting legislatures as directed by the Supreme Court are offender specific and the object behind establishment of such Special Courts is for expediting the cases against the former and sitting legislatures. Therefore, the Court distinguished from the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s view in Kolusu Partha Sarathy (supra) for being very restrictive and the Delhi High Court’s decision in Manjinder Singh Sirsa (supra) was followed for being in tune with the Supreme Court’s directions in Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India, (2024) 1 SCC 185.
Thus, the Court held that the Special Courts for MPs/MLAs, Manipur will have jurisdiction to try cases against former and sitting Legislatures (MPs/MLAs), notwithstanding the fact that such offences were committed prior to becoming a legislature or as a sitting legislature or after demitting office as a legislature. Hence, the Special Courts for MPs/ MLAs have jurisdiction to try all cases against the former and sitting legislatures irrespective of their status at the time of commission of such offences.
Conclusion
In the matter at hand, the Court noted that the main accused person was a former MLA at the time of the commission of the alleged offence. Therefore, it was evident that the Special Court for MPs/MLAs, Manipur was competent to try the case filed by the complainant against the accused persons for the offence committed after he ceased to be an MLA.
Therefore, the Court dismissed the criminal petition for being devoid of merits. The Special Court for MPs/MLAs, Manipur was directed to proceed with the pending trial of the case.
[Yengkhom Surchandra Singh v. Mayanglambam Rameshwor Singh, 2024 SCC OnLine Mani 32, Decided on: 05-02-2024]
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