Special courts to try politicians, Centre informs SC

Mains Paper 2: Polity | Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

Prelims level: Provisions related to elections

Mains level: Electoral reforms by judiciary

12 special courts to be set up

The Centre informed the Supreme Court that it will set up at least 12 special courts to try exclusively criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs
The scheme had been given in-principle approval by the Finance Ministry on December 8

Why this move?

The court on November 1 had directed the Centre to place before it details of 1,581 cases involving MPs and MLAs,
This had to be as per the declaration by the politicians at the time of filing their nominations during the 2014 general elections
Supreme Court had directed in November to the government to frame a Central scheme for setting up special courts across the country exclusively to try criminal cases involving “political persons”

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