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Synopsis

A Delhi High Court bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna has directed the establishment of a monitoring committee comprised of government officials to periodically assess the need and recruitment of public prosecutors for trial courts in the national capital.

The bench emphasized the crucial requirement of recruiting additional public prosecutors (PPs) due to concerns over the increasing backlog of cases in lower courts.

Expressing alarm over the rising number of pending cases and attributing it to a shortage of PPs, the bench challenged the notion of a surplus, stating that officials making such claims had not visited the courts. It pointed out that trial courts faced delays as judicial officers had to wait for public prosecutors, who were "shared" between multiple courts.

The court mandated that the monitoring committee include officials from various departments, including finance and law and justice.

It instructed the committee to submit a comprehensive report before the next hearing, scheduled for February 12, 2024. Additionally, the committee is tasked with making recommendations to the Delhi government regarding vacancies for public prosecutors.

The high court was addressing a series of petitions, including a suo motu case, on concerns related to the recruitment and working conditions of public prosecutors in the city. The petitioners sought not only an increase in the number of prosecutors but also an upward revision of their pay scales, along with better facilities and infrastructure.

Amicus curiae Rajeev K. Virmani, providing assistance to the court in this matter, highlighted the absence of a system to ensure compliance with repeated judicial orders urging authorities to deploy an adequate number of public prosecutors in Delhi courts.

Earlier, the bench had expressed concern over the "consistent shortfall" in their numbers, leading to an overwhelming workload for the existing prosecutors across multiple courts. 

In 2009, the high court initiated a suo motu case on the inadequate conditions of prosecutors in Delhi, citing reasons such as a shortage of prosecutors, support staff, and inadequate infrastructure facilities contributing to delays in the disposal of cases involving undertrials.

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