Crime and Punishment: Do politicians in power receive special treatment in courts? Evidence from India (Job market paper)

An independent and impartial judiciary is one of the cornerstones of any democracy. Despite constitutional duties ensuring its independence, in practice, politicians in office may substantially influence the legal system. Do politicians in power receive special treatment in courts when facing criminal accusations? This paper is the first to provide causal evidence of the impact of holding office on legal proceedings and outcomes. I construct a unique panel of criminal cases for candidates for state Legislative Assemblies in India. I compare the probability of a pending criminal case being disposed of without conviction at the end of a legislature for politicians who barely won the election against those who barely lost it. This paper uncovers opposite effects of winning office, depending on the political alignment with the state ruling party. Winners from the state ruling party are more likely to get their pending criminal cases disposed of without conviction during their period in office. In contrast, winners from other parties are less likely to get their pending criminal cases disposed of without conviction during the same time-frame. The result can be rationalized by the (mis)use of certain attributions vested on the Executive power over law officials with career concerns.