By Manoj K for Indiaspend A police case filed against a Delhi politician from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for violent acts—including assault, trespass and impeding public officials—is a reminder of how common such cases are among elected representatives of India’s people, an IndiaSpend analysis has revealed. As many as 450 of 4,915 Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and Members of Parliament (MPs) across India have first information reports (FIRs) filed against them under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 353, which the Delhi Police used in registering an FIR this week against AAP MLA Alka Lamba, who ransacked a shop and toppled a billing machine. While 450 MLAs/MPs were booked under section 353, 424—of these 450 or others—have been booked under section 427, 169 under section 186 and 14 under section 451. An analysis of self-sworn affidavits—which candidates submit to Election Commission when contesting elections—show that 9.2% of elected MLAs/MPs are booked under these sections. Cases Registered Against MLAs/MPsIPC SectionNo. of MPs & MLAs With Cases Registered35345042742418616945114Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI The largest numbers are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. MLAs/MPs With Cases Registered, Party-wisePartyNo. of MPs & MLAs With Cases Under IPC Section 353No. of MPs & MLAs With Cases Under IPC Section 427No. of MPs & MLAs With Cases Under IPC Section 186No. of MPs & MLAs With Cases under IPC Section 451BJP134106488INC5453271SP393391AITC344222–SHS312961TRS20188–AIADMK179––JD(U)16134–AAP124121TDP12164–YSR Congress Party7104–BJD611–2BSP68 –AIMIM566–RJD58––JMM44––AIFB–4––NCP414––CPM65––JVM(P)3–––Others353119–Grand Total45042416914Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI; Note: MPs and MLAs with cases under disparate IPC Sections are not dis-joint, e.g. An MP/MLA may have one or more cases involving one or more of four IPC Sections 2. IPC Section 353: Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty—Whoever assaults or uses criminal force against any person being a public servant in the execution of his duty as such public servant, or with intent to prevent or deter that person from discharging his duty as such public servant, or in consequence of anything done or attempted to be done by such person in the lawful discharge of his duty as such public servant, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. 57 MPs and 393 MLAs have declared cases under IPC 353. Assault/Criminal Force: How The Parties RankPartyNo. of MPs & MLAs With Cases Under IPC Section 353BJP134INC54SP39AITC34SHS31TRS20AIADMK17JD(U)16AAP12TDP12YSR Congress Party7BJD6BSP6AIMIM5RJD5JMM4NCP4CPM6JVM(P)3Others35Grand Total450Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI MPs Charged Under Section 353HouseNo. of MPs With CasesLok Sabha52Rajya Sabha5Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI MLAs Charged Under Section 353State AssembyNo. of MLAs With CasesUttar Pradesh69Maharashtra56Bihar44West Bengal40Telangana25Madhya Pradesh23Jharkhand22Tamil Nadu19Andhra Pradesh16Delhi13Odisha13Rajasthan12Karnataka10Chhattisgarh5Uttarakhand5Haryana4Tripura4Punjab3Goa2Gujarat2Jammu & Kashmir2Puducherry2Himachal Pradesh1Sikkim1Grand Total393Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI 3. IPC Section 427: Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees—Whoever commits mischief and thereby causes loss or damage to the amount of fifty rupees or upwards, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. 56 MPs and 368 MLAs have declared cases under IPC 427. Mischief Causing Damage: How The Parties RankPartyNo. of MPs & MLAs With Cases Under IPC Section 427BJP106INC53AITC42SP33SHS29TRS18TDP16NCP14JD(U)13BJD11YSR Congress Party10AIADMK9BSP8RJD8AIMIM6CPM5AAP4AIFB4JMM4Others31Grand Total424Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI MPs Charged Under Section 427HouseNo. of MPs With CasesLok Sabha53Rajya Sabha3Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI MLAs Charged Under Section 427State AssemblyNo. of MLAs With CasesUttar Pradesh61Maharashtra60West Bengal56Bihar34Telangana25Jharkhand21Andhra Pradesh20Odisha18Gujarat14Madhya Pradesh12Tamil Nadu10Rajasthan7Karnataka6Goa5Delhi4Assam3Haryana3Tripura3Chhattisgarh1Himachal Pradesh1Jammu & Kashmir1Puducherry1Punjab1Uttarakhand1Grand Total368Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI 4. IPC Section 451: House-trespass in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment. Whoever commits house-trespass in order to the committing of any offence punishable with imprisonment, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if the offence intended to be committed is theft, the term of the imprisonment may be extended to seven years. Three MPs and 11 MLAs have declared cases under IPC 451. Trespass: How The Parties RankPartyNo. of MPs & MLAs With Cases Under IPC Section 451BJP8BJD2AAP1INC1SHS1SP1Grand Total14Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI MPs Charged Under Section 451HouseNo. of MPs With CasesLok Sabha1Rajya Sabha2Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI MLAs Charged Under Section 451State AssemblyNo. of MLAs With CasesDelhi1Goa2Haryana1Maharashtra2Odisha3Rajasthan2Grand Total11Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI 5. IPC Section 186: Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions—Whoever voluntarily obstructs any public servant in the discharge of his public functions, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both. 24 MPs and 145 MLAs have declared cases under IPC 186. Impeding Public Servants: How The Parties RankPartyNo. of MPs & MLAs With Cases Under IPC Section 186BJP48INC27AITC22AAP12SP9TRS8AIMIM6SHS6JD(U)4TDP4YSR Congress Party4Others19Grand Total169Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI MPs Charged Under Section 186HouseNo. of MPs With CasesLok Sabha22Rajya Sabha2Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI MLAs Charged Under Section 186State AssemblyNo. of MLAs With CasesWest Bengal29Maharashtra17Telangana14Delhi12Uttar Pradesh12Madhya Pradesh10Rajasthan8Jharkhand7Bihar6Gujarat6Andhra Pradesh5Odisha5Chhattisgarh4Punjab3Haryana2Himachal Pradesh2Karnataka2Uttarakhand1Grand Total145Source: Contesting Candidate Affidavits to ECI This is an Indiaspend story. You can read it here. (Manoj K is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the founder of the Centre for Governance and Development. He has a special interest in transparency and accountability in governance and has spearheaded several projects on these subjects. He can be contacted at manoj@cgdindia.org.)