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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court recently pulled up the Delhi Government for a huge backlog of cases and directed it to fill up the vacant posts of Public Prosecutors at the earliest.

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that the criminal justice system already has a huge backlog of cases that can only be cleared if vacancies for Public Prosecutors are filled at the earliest.

The court while hearing a batch of pleas noted that there are 108 posts of Public Prosecutors lying vacant.

Advocate Ashish Dixit appearing for the Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association submitted that one Public Prosecutor (PP) is handling almost three to four courts and that this has brought the entire criminal justice system to a standstill.

Senior Advocate Rajeev K Virmani, the Amicus Curiae informed the bench that 108 courts in Delhi are non-functional for want of Public Prosecutors.

Taking note of the submissions, the bench stated that the Delhi government is the only authority that can fill these vacancies and hench directed the Delhi government to expedite the process of filling up the vacant posts of Public Prosecutors. Court further the government to file a fresh status report before the next date of hearing.

The court made it clear that “if the Status Report is not filed and proper explanation is not given as to why the vacancies have not been filled up, the Court will direct the personal appearance of the Law Secretary and other officers who are responsible for the delay.”

“The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is also granted the last opportunity to file a reply in the matter as directed by this Court, failing which this Court will direct the personal appearance of the Secretary, DoPT”, the court added. Accordingly, court listed the matter for February 14, 2023 for further hearing.

Case Title: Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association v. Rajiv Mehrishi & Anr. (connected matters)