It is common for cases against people's representatives to go on for years. Even in the cases where the trial is completed, the proceedings of the case will be prolonged due to re-investigation, submission of report, joining of new parties etc. Meanwhile, the MPs and MLAs involved in the case will once again become people's representatives and hold constitutional positions. Many allegations have been made that the cases against the people's representatives are being prolonged due to their influence.

There are 5175 cases pending in trial courts in India in which various elected representatives are accused. Out of this, 2116 cases are more than five years old. UP has the highest number of pending cases - 1377 cases. Realizing that this pending process is an affront to the legal system itself, the Supreme Court has directed the High Courts to constitute a special bench in cases where MPs and MLAs are accused and ensure speedy adjudication. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also issued guidelines for high courts to monitor proceedings in special courts.

At the same time, the Supreme Court has also clarified that the demands of the petition, including a life ban for the people's representatives who are punished in the case, will be considered later. In the petition filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the Supreme Court said that only the request to speed up the cases was considered and other matters were left to the High Courts.

The most important item in the guidelines is that High Courts can voluntarily register cases to dispose of cases against representatives of the people. Along with this, the High Court can also issue necessary directions for speedy and efficient disposal of cases.

The Supreme Court has also directed that priority should be given to cases in the order of criminal cases in which the people's representatives receive the death penalty or life imprisonment, cases in which they can receive a prison sentence of five years or more and other cases. The status of the cases has also been requested to be made available on the High Court website. This intervention of the Supreme Court is very welcome. If not, it will lead to the impression that whatever crime is committed by a representative of the people, he will not be punished even after half a century. The representative of the people is not entitled to any consideration in criminal cases beyond that given to the ordinary citizen.