According to the latest report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW), around 40 per cent of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) have criminal cases registered against them. Around 194 MPs, constituting 25% of the total, have declared serious criminal charges against them, encompassing offences such as murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women.

According to the submitted affidavits, 32 MPs have indicated cases of ‘attempt to murder’ (under IPC Section 307), while 21 sitting MPs have reported cases related to crimes against women. Alarmingly, 4 MPs have disclosed cases related to rape (under IPC Section 376).

State wise data

Kerala topped with 73% of its MPs reporting criminal cases in their self-submitted affidavits, followed by Bihar, Maharashtra (both at 57%), and Telangana (at 50%). Bihar leads in terms of MPs facing severe criminal charges, accounting for 50%, followed by Telangana (9%), Kerala (10%), Maharashtra (34%), and Uttar Pradesh (37%).

Party wise data

Upon examining the data by political party, it is revealed that 139 out of the 385 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs, 43 of 81 total Congress MPs, 14 out of the total 36 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, 5 out of 6 Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MPs, 6 out of 8 Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) MPs,3 out of 11 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs, 13 out of 31 YSRCP MPs, and 3 out of the 8 Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MPs have declared criminal cases in their affidavits.

As per the affidavits submitted, 32 Members of Parliament have declared cases of ‘attempt to murder’ under IPC Section 307. Among the current MPs, 21 have declared cases related to crimes against women, out of which 4 MPs have been charged with cases related to rape under IPC Section 376.

Assets declared by MPs

The average assets per MP from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is ₹38.33 crore. MPs with declared criminal cases have an average asset value of ₹50.03 crore, while those without such cases possess an average of ₹30.50 crore.

Telangana boasts the highest average assets among its MPs, with an average worth of ₹262.26 crore for 24 MPs, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 36 MPs averaging ₹150.76 crore and Punjab with 20 MPs having an average asset value of ₹88.94 crore.