Assistant Public Prosecutors
Full Text
(1) The State Government shall appoint in every district one or more Assistant Public Prosecutors for conducting prosecutions in the Courts of Magistrates.
(2) The Central Government may appoint one or more Assistant Public Prosecutors for the purpose of conducting any case or class of cases in the Courts of Magistrates.
(3) Without prejudice to provisions contained in sub-sections (1) and (2), 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 after giving notice of fourteen days to the State Government: Provided that no police officer shall be eligible to be appointed as an Assistant Public Prosecutor, if he— (a) has taken any part in the investigation into the offence with respect to which the accused is being prosecuted; or (b) is below the rank of Inspector.
Plain English Summary
Mandates the appointment of Assistant Public Prosecutors for Magistrate Courts and defines restrictions on appointing police officers as APPs.
Key Legal Elements
- State Government must appoint one or more APPs in every district for Magistrate Courts.
- Central Government may appoint APPs for specific cases or classes of cases.
- DM can appoint a temporary APP if none is available (requires 14 days notice to State Govt).
- Police officers who investigated the specific case are disqualified from acting as APP for it.
- Police officers below the rank of Inspector cannot be appointed as Assistant Public Prosecutors.
Practical Note
Assistant Public Prosecutors typically handle cases in lower (Magistrate) courts; police officers can only act as APPs if they haven't investigated the case and are at least of Inspector rank.
हिंदी पाठ
(1) राज्य सरकार प्रत्येक जिले में मजिस्ट्रेटों के न्यायालयों में अभियोजन चलाने के लिए एक या अधिक सहायक लोक अभियोजक नियुक्त करेगी।
(2) केंद्र सरकार मजिस्ट्रेटों के न्यायालयों में किसी मामले या मामलों के वर्ग के संचालन के उद्देश्य से एक या अधिक सहायक लोक अभियोजक नियुक्त कर सकती है।
(3) उप-धारा (1) और (2) के प्रावधानों पर प्रतिकूल प्रभाव डाले बिना, जहां किसी विशेष मामले के लिए कोई सहायक लोक अभियोजक उपलब्ध नहीं है, जिला मजिस्ट्रेट राज्य सरकार को चौदह दिनों का नोटिस देने के बाद किसी अन्य व्यक्ति को उस मामले का प्रभारी सहायक लोक अभियोजक नियुक्त कर सकता है।
बशर्ते कि कोई भी पुलिस अधिकारी सहायक लोक अभियोजक के रूप में नियुक्त होने के लिए पात्र नहीं होगा, यदि वह— (क) उस अपराध की जांच में कोई भाग ले चुका है जिसके संबंध में अभियुक्त पर मुकदमा चलाया जा रहा है; या (ख) इंस्पेक्टर के पद से नीचे का है।