With the beginning of 18th Lok Sabha on Monday, a ‘not so healthy’ record of sorts would be set in parliamentary democracy as Modi 3.0 is set to bring in nearly one-third of cabinet members with declared criminal cases and serious criminal cases in independent India, inside the temple of democracy.
As per reports of ADR and National Election Watch, the self-sworn affidavits of 71 out of 72 Ministers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Lok Sabha Elections 2024 and current Rajya Sabha revealed the infamous past of nearly one-third of the cabinet ministers having declared criminal cases and serious criminal cases including cases related to attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women etc lodged against their names.
Ministers with Criminal Cases
Of the 71 cabinet ministers in Modi 3.0 regime, a shocking 28 (39%) ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves.
Ministers with Serious Criminal Cases
Likewise, in the new cabinet 19 (27%) ministers have declared serious criminal cases lodged against their respective names including cases related to attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women etc.
Ministers with cases related to Attempt to Murder
In the new cabinet two ministers have declared cases related to attempt to
murder under section 307 of IPC which include Shantanu Thakur elected from Bangaon (SC) parliamentary constituency in West Bengal on BJP ticket. He has 23 criminal cases against his name lodged under 37 serious sections of IPC including section 307.
Similarly, Sukanta Majumdar, a BJP candidate elected from Balurghat parliamentary seat in West Bengal has 16 criminal cases lodged against his name under 30 serious sections of IPC including attempt to murder.
Ministers with cases related to Crime against Women
A total of five ministers in Modi 3.0 cabinet have declared cases related to crime against women.
| Name | State | Constituency | Party | Cases | IPC |
| Bandi Sanjay Kumar | Telangana | Karimnagar | BJP | 42 | 30 |
| Shantanu Thakur | WB | Bangaon (SC) | BJP | 23 | 37 |
| Sukanta Majumdar | WB | Balurghat | BJP | 16 | 30 |
| Suresh Gopi | Kerala | Thrissur | BJP | 4 | 2 |
| Jual Oram | Odisha | Sundargarh | BJP | 3 | 0 |
Ministers with cases related to Hate Speech
A total of eight ministers in Modi 3.0 cabinet have declared cases related to hate speech registered against their name.
| Name | State | Constituency | Party | Cases | IPC |
| Bandi Sanjay Kumar | Telangana | Karimnagar | BJP | 42 | 30 |
| Shantanu Thakur | WB | Bangaon (SC) | BJP | 23 | 37 |
| Sukanta Majumdar | WB | Balurghat | BJP | 16 | 30 |
| Shobha Karandlaje | Karnataka | Bangalore North | BJP | 5 | 4 |
| Dharmendra Pradhan | Odisha | Sambalpur | BJP | 5 | 3 |
| Giriraj Singh | Bihar | Begusarai | BJP | 3 | 9 |
| Nityanand Rai | Bihar | Ujiarpur | BJP | 3 | 4 |
| Amit Shah | Gujarat | Gandhinagar | BJP | 3 | 3 |
K Ram Mohan Naidu youngest, Jitan Ram Manjhi oldest in Modi 3.0 cabinet
The Modi 3.0 cabinet also has 36-year-old Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu as the youngest Minister while 79-year-old Jitan Ram Manjhi is the oldest Minister to be inducted in the 18th Lok Sabha. Naidu, Srikakulam MP from Telugu Desam Party (TDP), was sworn in as a Minister of State (MoS) in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new Council of Ministers while Manjhi was sworn in as a Union Cabinet Minister.
Criteria for serious criminal cases
1. Offence for which maximum punishment is of 5 years or more.
2. If an offence is non-bailable.
3. If it is an electoral offence (for eg. IPC 171E or bribery).
4. Offence related to loss to exchequer.
5. Offences that are assault, murder, kidnap, rape related.
6. Offences mentioned in Representation of the People Act (Section 8).
7. Offences under Prevention of Corruption Act.
8. Crimes against women.
