Recently, the Delhi High Court [Court on its own motion v State] issued a number of directives to address the issues raised by Delhi’s public prosecutors (PPs).
The government and the Principal District & Sessions Judges of all districts in Delhi were instructed by a Division Bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain to equip public prosecutors with the necessary infrastructure and technology resources, including office space for PPs.
“Principal District & Sessions Judges of all districts of Delhi shall, if not already, provide requisite office space to Public Prosecutors posted in their respective districts. The space for office and creating e-library may be identified and approval be sought from of respective Building Maintenance & Construction Committee (BMCC), High Court of Delhi,” the Court ordered.
Additionally, the Court mandated that PPs get an annual clothing allowance of ₹10,000.
“This Court cannot be oblivious of the fact that public prosecutors are required to appear in the Court in robes and are required to wear the prescribed robe, including the black coat throughout the year and, therefore, it will be in the fitness of things if they are also granted dress allowance in the same manner. Accordingly, we order that Public Prosecutors be given dress allowance @ ₹10,000 per annum w.e.f. from date of the present order,” the Court directed.
The Court further pointed out that although PPs receive ₹80,000 for the purchase of laptops and tablets, this sum is only provided every five years, based on the five-year lifespan of the equipment.
Instead of treating it as five years, the court ruled that it be treated as four.
“As on date, Public Prosecutors are getting Rs. 80,000/-, in all, for purchasing of laptop and tablet which amount seems to be quite sufficient for enabling them for doing their office work with the help of these technological devices. However, the prescribed life of such technological devices should be the same i.e. four years instead of five years as has been prescribed for Executive and Judicial Officers,” the Court ordered.
The Delhi government was also asked by the Bench to think about providing incentives to help PPs earn higher degrees.
“We request GNCTD to consider such request regarding grant of incentive, either in lumpsum or by way of three advance increments, and to pass appropriate orders in this regard within six weeks from today. Before passing any order, it would give opportunity of hearing to DPWA [Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association],” the Court ordered.
The High Court further declared that prosecutors are entitled to a ₹1.25 lakh allowance for camp office once every five years, and it asked the government to take their pleas for protection into consideration.
The Bench also approved the subsequent directives:
- The schedule set forth by the Delhi District Courts would be adhered to by prosecutors. Nonetheless, the Delhi government’s calendar would be followed throughout the summer break. This arrangement will be in place until the government decides if the prosecution department can be considered a vacation department and whether these prosecutors can be assigned to any other duties during this time.
- The government will evaluate the security requests made by prosecutors, bearing in mind that comparable protections are in place for employees of other agencies. The Court declared that as judges are likewise vulnerable to these kinds of attacks, the government should think about providing them with an allowance or some other kind of alternative arrangement, such as PSO.
- Every district’s public prosecutors would have access to digital libraries created by the Delhi government. These libraries ought to have high-speed internet, computers, printers, and other necessary equipment. They ought to be subscribed to e-journals and e-legal software, as well.
- Main District and Sessions Public prosecutors assigned to each Delhi district should have access to the necessary office space, according to the judges of each district.
- The current cadre review exercise for prosecutors needs to be finished in six weeks.
- Every five years, public prosecutors would also be eligible for a ₹1.25 lakh camp office allowance.
The Bench made it clear that prosecutors at the position of Assistant Public Prosecutors and higher will be subject to these guidelines.
In a suo motu writ petition, the court issued directives on the delay in submitting appeals. The petition was started in the year 2017. Afterwards, the Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association (DPWA) voiced their complaints and requested assistance in the case.
Advocates Ashish Dixit, Shailendra Singh, Harsh Choudhary, Ishaan Jain, and KR Dogra appeared for DPWA, along with senior attorney Ramesh Gupta.
The Delhi government was represented by attorneys Spriha Bhandari, Charu Sharma, Arijit Sharma, and Vaibhav Vats in addition to Additional Standing Counsel Sanjeev Bhandari.
