Prosecutors under fear psychosis: Court asks Delhi govt to act

A court here today asked the Delhi government and director of prosecution to address the issue of "fear psychosis" among public prosecutors who dread ire of their seniors in case adverse orders are passed in criminal matters.
Noting that public prosecutors cannot help courts impart justice under such pressure from their seniors, Additional Sessions Judge Savita Rao directed Principal Secretary Home of the Delhi government and the director of prosecution to "take appropriate action" in the matter under the intimation of the court within one month.
"It has been conveyed to this court that additional public prosecutors (APPs) remain under constant fear psychosis of facing ire of their seniors and are unable to discharge their function freely and independently as they apprehend issuance of show cause notices if they fail to get favourable orders from the courts despite they discharging their duties diligently.

"The prosecution agency is meant to assist the court in imparting justice and not be the cause of miscarriage and delay of justice which is avoidable only by taking the call of the duty," the judge said.
The order was passed by the judge court after a substitute APP appearing before it in absence of regular prosecutor of the court refused to examine the witnesses stating that it would be appropriate if the regular APP examines them.
Every court has a regular prosecutor, a government official, who prosecutes criminal actions in the given court on behalf of the state.
The court also rued the reluctance of substitute APPs to examine the witnesses in four different criminal cases before it on two consecutive hearings.