What are the provisions relating to the Public Prosecutors and Assistant Public Prosecutors under the Criminal Procedure Code? Whether a police officer may be appointed as an assistant public prosecutor?

Question: What are the provisions relating to the Public Prosecutors and Assistant Public Prosecutors under the Criminal Procedure Code? Whether a police officer may be appointed as an assistant public prosecutor? [R.J.S. 1986]

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Answer

Section 24 and 25 of the CrPC deals with the Public Prosecutors and Assistant Public Prosecutors respectively.

Section 24 of CrPC provides that there shall be a Public Prosecutor for every high court for conducting any prosecution, appeal, or other proceedings on behalf of the Central Government or State Government.

The Public Prosecutor is appointed by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, after consultation with the High Court. A person shall be eligible to be appointed in High Court as Public Prosecutor if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years. (S. 24(7)).

Section 24 sub-section (4) states the District Magistrate shall, in consultation with the Sessions Judge, prepare a panel of names of persons, who are, in his opinion fit to be appointed as Public Prosecutors or Additional Public Prosecutors for the district.

Section 24 sub-section (5) states that no person shall be appointed by the State Government as the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor for the district unless his name appears in the panel of names prepared by the District Magistrate under sub-section (4).

Section 24 sub-section (6) states that notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (5), wherein a State there exists a regular Cadre of Prosecuting Officers, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor only from among the persons constituting such Cadre:

Provided that where, in the opinion of the State Government, no suitable person is available in such Cadre for such appointment that Government may appoint a person as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor, as the case may be, from the panel of names prepared by the District Magistrate under sub-section (4).

It is also notable that the Court may permit the victim to engage an Advocate of his choice to assist the prosecution. (S. 24(8))

Section 25. Assistant Public Prosecutors. —

(1) The State Government shall appoint in every district one or more Assistant Public Prosecutors for conducting prosecutions in the Courts of Magistrates.

(2) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (3), no police officer shall be eligible to be appointed as an Assistant Public Prosecutor.

(3) Where no Assistant Public Prosecutor is available for the purposes of any particular case, the District Magistrate may appoint any other person to be the Assistant Public Prosecutor in charge of that case: Provided that a police officer shall not be so appointed—

(a) if he has taken any part in the investigation into the offence with respect to which the accused is being prosecuted; or

(b) if he is below the rank of Inspector

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