PIL against establishment of Directorate of Prosecution
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 12: In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking quashment of Government Order No. 1104-Home of 2019 dated 30-10-2019 whereby sanction was accorded to the establishment of Directorate of Prosecution and Government Order No. 01-Home of 2019 dated 31-10-2019 whereby former members of J&K Police Gazetted Service (Prosecution Wing) have been engaged as Deputy Director(s) (Prosecution), Division Bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur has directed AAG Raman Sharma to file reply within month.
The contention of counsel for the petitioners was that the service so created by the notification consists of members of J&K Police (Gazetted) Service (Prosecution wing) and Prosecuting officers (Non-Gazetted) as its members and these persons are not eligible for appointment as Prosecutors in view of Section 24(7) of Code of Criminal Procedure which clearly provides that a person is eligible for appointment as Public Prosecutor /Additional Public Prosecutor only if he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than seven years.
AAG Raman Sharma appearing for respondents drew the attention of the court to Sub Section 9 of Section 24 and submitted that a person who had been in service as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor shall be deemed to be in practice as an Advocate and, therefore, the Police Officers who were working as Prosecuting Officers with a Degree of Law would be covered and eligible for appointment.
At this stage, the counsels appearing for the petitioners submitted that J&K Prosecution Service Recruitment Rules, 2020 in Schedule II provide for appointment of Prosecuting Officers by direct recruitment from amongst the persons possessing Bachelor of Law (LLB) Degree of a University established by Law.
“The Rule completely ignores seven years of practice as stipulated under Sub-Rule 7 of Section 24 of the CrPC. and as is in conflict with the Code”, they added.
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