The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday directed the State government to give details of the number of public prosecutors, infrastructure, and other facilities provided for the Special Court set up in 2018 to exclusively deal with criminal cases related to former and present Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council in the State.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S. Kinagi issued the direction while hearing a PIL petition suo motu initiated to monitor progress of cases against lawmakers following a direction from the apex court.
Noticing that there are about 130 criminal cases pending for trial before the Special Court, the Bench also directed the Registrar-General of the High Court to submit details of district-wise cases that are transferred to the Special Court and the stages of trial of the pending cases, and the orders of stay of trial passed by the High Court.
The Bench also asked the government to examine whether the safe and secure place for witnesses can be provided on the premises of Bengaluru city Civil Court Complex based on the special standard operating procedure (SOP) notified recently so that the Special Court could commence recording of statements of witnesses by securing their physical appearance as per the SOP.
Also, the Bench asked Senior Counsel Aditya Sondhi, who has been appointed as amicus curiae, to give his suggestions on several aspects, including whether one Special Court is sufficient to complete the trials, as pointed out by the apex court. Further hearing was adjourned till October 5.
