Plea Filed In Delhi High Court Seeking Direction To Delhi Govt. To Create More Posts Of Additional Public Prosecutors For Fast-Track & POCSO Courts

A plea has been moved before the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Government of NCT of Delhi to create more posts of Additional Public Prosecutors and thereafter, to initiate the process of appointment of Additional Public Prosecutors to be posted in 55 fast-track and POCSO courts in Delhi.

The Plea/Application has been filed by Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association through Advocates Kushal Kumar, Aditya Kapoor, Harsh Ahuja & Akashdeep Gupta [Erudite Legal] in a petition pending before the Delhi HC.

This Petition was initiated by the High Court on its own motion [Suo Moto Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 1549/2009], particularly to deal with the issues pertaining to working conditions and appointment of public prosecutors.

Need of more Public Prosecutors

The association, in its plea, has maintained that presently 55 fast track and POCSO courts are functioning with 37 Public Prosecutors leading to overburdening of the prosecution and increase in pendency of rape and POCSO cases.

The plea further states that since the shortage is hampering the expeditious disposal of the cases in POCSO courts, the Directorate of Prosecution sent a proposal to the Delhi Government emphasizing upon the need to appoint more Additional Prosecutors for the fast-track courts i.e., to create more posts of Additional Public Prosecutors.

Proposal Sent to Delhi Government

In the said proposal, it was stressed that it was very difficult to provide the substitute Additional Public Prosecutors in the POCSO courts and hence, creation of 2 posts of Additional Public Prosecutors in all fast-track and POCSO courts is a need of the hour.

It was observed that a total number of 110 Additional Prosecutors are required to be posted in 55 fast-track and POCSO courts and since the Directorate of Prosecution has only 37 Additional Prosecutors for the 55 fast-track and POCSO courts (27 existing + 18 proposed), 73 Additional Prosecutors are required to be appointed and posted in such courts for effective and speedy trials in the rape and POCSO Act matters.

"Delhi Government rejects the Proposal"

The plea further states that on 14th December 2020, the Administrative Reforms Department of the Delhi Government erroneously observed that the submission to deploy 2 Additional Public Prosecutors in each fast-track and POCSO courts is unreasonable.

Subsequently, the Home Department (DOP Branch) vide Decision dated 18 December 2020 rejected and returned the proposal for creation of 73 posts of Additional Public Prosecutors submitted by the Directorate of Prosecution.

The plea further submits that the Delhi Government refused to create posts of Additional Public Prosecutors to be posted in 55 fast-track and POCSO courts (existing and proposed) and thus, they have acted against the idea and objectives of settingup of fast-track special courts and against the various orders of the Apex Court and Delhi High Court.

In this backdrop, the plea states,

"The rejection of creation of additional posts of Additional Public Prosecutors by the GNCTD is detrimental to the criminal justice system and is against the basic objectives of setting-up of the fast-track and POCSO courts."

Importantly, the plea also states,

"The purpose of harsh punishment for such heinous crimes is destroyed when the trial is not able to be completed in a particular time frame and the justice is not able to be delivered expeditiously to the victims."

The plea lastly submits that the Delhi Government ought to have considered the creation of 73 posts of Additional Public Prosecutors, in addition to the existing strength of 37 Additional Public Prosecutors, to be posted in the 55 fast-track and POCSO courts (existing + proposed) in Delhi.

Prayer of the plea

The Plea prays that an order directing the Respondent GNCTD be passed "to create additional posts of Additional Public Prosecutors and thereafter initiate the process of appointment of Additional Public Prosecutors to be posted in 55 fast-track and POCSO courts functioning for the purposes of trials of rape and POCSO Act matters in National Capital Territory of Delhi."

The matter is likely to come up before the Bench of Chief Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel tomorrow.