A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW), based on self-sworn affidavits, found 45% (14 of 31) of India's incumbent Chief Ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves.

35% (11 CMs) face serious criminal cases carrying imprisonment of five years or more; two CMs have declared cases related to attempt to murder.

The average declared assets of Chief Ministers stand at ₹118.07 crore; Karnataka's D.K. Shivakumar is the wealthiest CM, with declared assets over ₹1,413 crore.

The findings feed into ongoing debate on electoral reform, transparency, and ethical governance under GS Paper II and GS Paper IV of the UPSC syllabus.