The Gauhati High Court has directed its Registry to prepare two fresh lists of all criminal cases in which sitting and former Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly are named as accused, after finding that earlier lists submitted to the court did not comply with its previous orders.
The direction was issued after the court reviewed lists that had been prepared following its earlier orders of March 5 and March 10, 2026, and found them to be not in consonance with what had been directed.
The court has now specified that the two lists must be structured as follows — one covering all pending cases against accused MPs and MLAs that date back to 2016 or earlier, and a second covering cases from 2017 to the present date.
The division is significant, as it prioritises older, long-pending cases for earlier attention — a concern the court had flagged in its March 10 order.
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Alongside the direction for fresh lists, the court has also directed the state government to assign a public prosecutor, additional public prosecutor, or assistant public prosecutor — as appropriate — to each case on the list.
The details of these assignments are to be placed before the court on the next date fixed, which is May 7, 2026.
The bench of Justice Devashis Baruah and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury had passed an order on March 5, 2026, directing the Registry to separate cases where MPs and MLAs are complainants from those where they are the accused.
A follow-up order on March 10, 2026, directed that a fresh list be prepared giving priority to cases pending since 2016 or earlier.
Lists were subsequently prepared and placed before the court — but the court found these did not fully comply with the intent and specifics of both orders, prompting the fresh directions.
The March 10 order had also called for an affidavit from a competent authority of the state's Home and Political Department, explaining how the Assam government plans to deploy public prosecutors appointed under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), alongside those previously appointed under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
In response, the Deputy Secretary of the Home and Political Department filed an affidavit stating that 24 public prosecutors, 75 additional public prosecutors, and 140 assistant public prosecutors have been appointed under the BNSS.
The affidavit also clarified that the Assam government intends to continue using public prosecutors who were empanelled across all districts prior to the recent BNSS appointments — meaning both sets of prosecutors will remain in service simultaneously.
Taking all of the above on record, the court has now formally segregated the two lists — cases up to 2016, and cases from 2017 onwards — and the matter will next be heard on May 7, 2026, when the prosecutor assignment details are expected to be placed before the bench.