A total of 1,765 lawmakers — MPs and MLAs — are facing criminal trial, in 3,816 cases, initiated between 2014 and 2017, the Centre informed the Supreme Court last week.

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This was after the top court sought the Centre's reply in November last year, on a petition that seeks a life ban on convicted politicians from contesting elections.

Uttar Pradesh (248 MPs and MLAs) tops the list, followed by Tamil Nadu (178), Bihar (144) and West Bengal (139).

There are more than 100 MPs and MLAs facing criminal trial in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana.

Only 125 cases reached conclusion within a year, a limit the top court had set for politicians in 2014. In the last three years, only 771 trials were completed — 3,045 still undecided. A total of 539 cases are pending in UP, 373 in Kerela and more than 300 in Tamil Nadu, Bihar and West Bengal.

The top court had also made a strong pitch for decriminalisation of politics and asked the Centre to come back with a plan to set up special courts to try cases involving MPs and MLAs. The court said speedy disposal of these cases was in the "interest of the nation."

The Representation of the People Act says a politician sentenced to two years or more is disqualified from contesting elections for six years from the date of his/her release from prison after the conclusion of the term.