“The public prosecutor is another bane in our system. As political appointees, their juniors often appear against them to support their cases. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) does not tackle this problem,” the former judge remarked.
Justice PN Prakash, a former Madras High Court judge, criticized public prosecutors as a detrimental aspect of the legal system due to their political appointments.
Speaking at a Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy panel on Reforming India’s Criminal Justice System, he highlighted the issue of public prosecutors’ juniors supporting their seniors’ cases and noted that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) fails to address this problem.
“The public prosecutor is another bane in our system. As political appointees, their juniors often appear against them to support their cases. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) does not tackle this problem,”
the former judge remarked.
Interestingly, Justice Prakash was recently appointed as a Special Public Prosecutor for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) before the Supreme Court of India, but the appointment was withdrawn on a technicality.
During the discussion, he mentioned reducing ‘Romeo Juliet’ cases by coordinating directly with police higher-ups. He also emphasized that perjury and filing civil suits to entangle people in litigation are major issues. In Tamil Nadu, he worked with Bengali associations to assist migrant workers from Bengal and Odisha facing language barriers in criminal cases.
“Another significant issue in our system is widespread perjury. Without addressing this, any reforms are futile. Filing civil suits to entangle people in litigation is also a major problem. In Tamil Nadu, migrant workers from Bengal and Odisha face language barriers in criminal cases, so we collaborated with Bengali associations and others to assist them,”
he added.
Justice Prakash pointed out the low prison population in Tamil Nadu, suggesting that India has a largely law-abiding citizenry. He also mentioned the issue of criminal cases stemming from unresolved civil disputes.
“The slow resolution of landlord and property disputes by civil courts leads to an increase in criminal cases. Magistrates are overwhelmed with Section 138 (Negotiable Instrument Act) cases,”
he said, referring to cheque-bounce cases.
Other panelists included National Law University, Delhi Vice-Chancellor Prof GS Bajpai, former Himachal Pradesh DGP Somesh Goyal, and criminal justice expert Seema Joshi.
Prof Bajpai remarked on the confusing ideology of India’s criminal justice system and asserted that criminal law, by nature, cannot be just because it deals with criminals. He also highlighted the ingrained culture of torture and high-handedness within the police force.
