HC asks AAP govt to explore possibility of setting up academy to train prosecutors

The Delhi High Court asked today the AAP government to explore the possibility of setting up an academy for imparting training to prosecutors and take a cue from other states like Madhya Pradesh and Bihar where the governments have such centres.

The court also asked the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court to see whether prosecutors could be given training at the judicial academy here.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao said a judicial note could be taken of the fact that in certain states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, there are training centres where government officials including public prosecutors are imparted training.

It asked the Delhi government to explore the possibility how such a training centre can be set up in the national capital.

The court asked the Delhi government and the Registrar General to submit their reports in three weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on October 10.

The court was hearing two PILs seeking upward revision in the pay scales of prosecutors and for equipping them with facilities and infrastructure needed to do their job.

Regarding, the aspect of proper infrastructure for prosecutors at the work place, the bench asked the Registrar General to take note of the proceedings pending before the court and see how proper space could be provided to them in district courts here.

The court had earlier asked how the government lawyers or prosecutors could be expected to perform efficiently if they were not paid properly and on time.

The centre had in April told the court that it has hiked the salaries of prosecutors in Delhi to bring them at par with their counterparts in other states.

The court was earlier informed by senior advocate Rajeev K Virmani, who was appointed an amicus curiae, and senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, who represented the prosecutors, that assistant prosecutors were being paid in the pay scale of Rs 9,300 to Rs 34,800 and for additional public prosecutors the grade pay was Rs 4,600 in pay bank II as per the 6th pay commission which was equivalent to what was received by a stenographer in district courts.