Amicus Curiae advocate Vijay Hansaria on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that 962 cases related to MPs and MLAs were pending for more than five years before 16 High Courts, Live Law reported on Tuesday.

He also sought a lifetime ban on convicted politicians from contesting elections.

Hansaria also said that High Courts of large states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Telangana have not submitted their affidavits mentioning pending cases.

On October 10, the Supreme Court had asked all the High Courts to inform about the cases that have been pending for more than five years. The order was passed on a petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, seeking to quickly dispose of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs.

According to the report compiled by Hansaria, Maharashtra tops the list of pending criminal cases against MPs and MLAs, with 482 pending cases. Meanwhile, Odisha has the largest number of cases pending against legislators for more than five years – 323.

The amicus curiae in his affidavit gave some directions for quick disposal of the cases.

He asked the Supreme Court to ensure that “prosecution and defence cooperate with the trial of the case and no adjournment shall be granted”, India Today reported.

He also suggested that the Supreme Court pass orders to the state government and Union Territories to “appoint/designate at least two Special Public Prosecutors for prosecuting cases in the special courts”.

In case the public prosecutor or the prosecution fails to cooperate in the expeditious trial, the court could send a copy of the order to the chief secretary of the state, who will take remedial measures, Hansaira added.