Supreme Court clears Himachal Pradesh to drop COVID-era cases against MLAs

The Supreme Court of India has granted Himachal Pradesh permission to withdraw criminal cases against sitting and former Members of Legislative Assembly related to minor offences allegedly committed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cases in question pertained to petty transgressions and violations of lockdown protocols, including incidents such as burning of effigies, staging of dharnas on highways, and other acts of political protest undertaken during the pandemic period.

The court's decision allows the state government to exercise prosecutorial discretion in withdrawing these cases, which had been registered against the legislators during the heightened enforcement of pandemic-related restrictions.

The move is expected to provide relief to the political representatives involved and reflects a judicial approach toward deprioritizing minor violations committed during the extraordinary circumstances of the health emergency. Legal experts note that such withdrawals have become increasingly common as courts have sought to clear backlogs of pandemic-related cases that were registered under stringent lockdown enforcement.

The decision underscores the distinction drawn by courts between serious criminal offences and procedural violations that occurred during the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 crisis.