Meghalaya Speaker Thomas Sangma named in ADR crimes-against-women list

Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker Thomas A. Sangma figures in a new Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report on sitting MPs and MLAs who have declared cases related to crimes against women in their election affidavits.

The report, "Analysis of Sitting MPs/MLAs with Declared Cases Related to Crimes against Women", was released by ADR and National Election Watch after examining 4,881 affidavits filed by sitting legislators across India, The Shillong Times reported.

What the report says about the Speaker

According to the analysis, Sangma, the National People's Party (NPP) MLA from North Tura, has declared one pending case under Indian Penal Code Sections 376(2)(n) and 506. Section 376(2)(n) relates to repeated rape of the same woman, and Section 506 to criminal intimidation.

The report cites an FIR registered in 2021 at Sadar Police Station in Shillong, with the case currently before the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate. It notes that charges have not been framed and that the legislator has no declared convictions.

ADR's figures are drawn from what candidates themselves declared in their Form 26 affidavits. The watchdog has stressed that the inclusion of a case does not establish guilt and that the current status of proceedings may differ from what was declared. There was no public response from the Speaker to the report at the time of writing.

The national picture

• 187 sitting legislators, 19 MPs and 168 MLAs, have declared cases related to crimes against women.
• 14 of them, 12 MLAs and two Lok Sabha MPs, face rape-related cases.
• The BJP and Congress each have four sitting legislators with declared rape cases. The NPP, TDP, Trinamool Congress, BJD, Bharat Adivasi Party and All India Secular Front each have one.
• The analysis covers affidavits submitted to the Election Commission of India between 2022 and 2026.

Why it matters

Sangma, a senior NPP leader from the Garo Hills, has presided over the Assembly since 2023. ADR reports are widely used by voters and civil society to scrutinise the records of elected representatives, and they often prompt calls for faster trials of cases involving lawmakers. Special courts for cases against MPs and MLAs have been set up in several states on the Supreme Court's direction to speed up such trials.

The appearance of a sitting Speaker on the list is likely to draw comment from opposition parties in Meghalaya, although no political reaction had been reported at the time of writing.