Delhi HC judges said, 'The criminal justice system already suffers from a huge backlog of cases, which can be rectified only if vacancies of public prosecutors are filled.'
The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Arvind Kejriwal government over the delay in filling up vacant posts of public prosecutors in district courts. The High Court observed that "if the status report is not filed and proper explanation is not given as to why the vacancies have not been filled, the Court shall direct the personal appearance of the Law Secretary and other officers responsible for the delay." ,
Last week, a bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramaniam Prasad observed, "The criminal justice system is already plagued by a huge backlog of cases, which can only be overcome by filling up the vacancies of public prosecutors at the earliest". .
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the only authority that can fill these vacancies. Four weeks time is given as a last grace to the GNCTD to expedite the process of filling up the vacant posts of Public Prosecutors.
The bench also observed that the 'situation is alarming' when it was informed that 108 posts of public prosecutors are lying vacant while hearing suo moto writ petitions regarding reforms in the criminal justice system.
Advocate Ashish Dixit, appearing for the Delhi Prosecutors Association, said that each public prosecutor is handling around three to four courts and this has brought the entire criminal justice system to a standstill.
The Court noted that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has also been given one last opportunity to file a reply in the matter as directed by this Court, failing which this Court shall direct the personal appearance of the Secretary, DoPT .
The Court directed the government to file an affidavit stating the steps taken to fill up the vacancies within four weeks, failing which the Law Secretary and other officers shall appear in person on the next date of hearing which is February 14. , is scheduled for 2023.
The High Court itself had filed a petition on the poor condition of the prosecutors. The court was also informed that one of the reasons for delay in disposal of cases of undertrial prisoners was lack of infrastructure and support staff for them as well as prosecutors.
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