The final two days of the Budget Session of the Parliament 2023 saw questions asked on the conviction rate in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases, the number of communal, religious and honour killings in the past five years and more.
Andhra Pradesh Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament S Niranjan Reddy asked the Law Ministry whether the number of female counsel on panels of the Central government was miniscule as compared to their male counterparts.
"No, Sir," read the reply by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju. However, the numbers produced in the reply suggested otherwise.
There are 5,587 male lawyers and 468 female lawyers empaneled by the Central government to represent it before courts or tribunals. The department-wise data is as under:
In the Rajya Sabha, Bihar MP Ram Nath Thakur sought information regarding government officers against whom the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had recommended action during the last five years. He also sought details of action taken on recommendations in the past five years.
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions revealed that the CVC has recommended action against 6,367 officers during 2017-2021. Out of these recommendations, 5,183 were at the first stage of advice, and 1,184 were at the second. These include 433 criminal proceedings.
During the same period, the number of major, minor penalties and other action imposed cumulatively was 8,794, and a total of 817 sanctions for prosecution were accorded.
To a question by West Bengal Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen, the Ministry revealed that in the past five years, the the conviction rate in cases initiated by the CBI was as under:
On Wednesday, to a question by Kerala Rajya Sabha MP V Sivadasan, the Home Ministry revealed that between 2017 and 2021, 131 cases of murder were registered in which the motive was communal or religious.
Of these, 53 were registered in the Union Territory of Delhi, all in the year 2020.
During the same period, 203 cases of honour killing were registered across the country. 62 in Jharkhand, 23 in Punjab, and 19 in Maharashtra.
The State and year wise data is as under: