Kerala High Court Orders Primacy for District Judges in Public Prosecutor Appointments
The Kerala High Court has directed that the opinion of the district judge must be given 'due primacy' when selecting candidates for the post of public prosecutor. The court was hearing two public interest litigations challenging the procedure outlined in the state's draft circular for preparing the appointment panel and selecting candidates.
A bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M approved the draft circular with a modification in Clause (3), replacing the phrase 'due regard' with 'due primacy'. The court stated that this change ensures the district judge's opinion is given appropriate weight in the selection process.
Amicus curiae and Senior Advocate P Deepak argued that the original wording did not clearly prioritise the district judge's opinion. The court agreed, noting that the district judge's input is crucial due to their familiarity with the functioning of the criminal justice system.
The high court also addressed concerns regarding the inclusion of the district police chief in the selection process, as specified in Clause (2) of the draft circular. The court held that while the police chief's input is valuable for verifying a candidate's antecedents, it is not final or binding. The opinion is merely advisory to assist the committee in making an informed decision.
The court disposed of the writ petitions after recording the modification and appreciated the assistance of the amicus curiae. The order was issued on July 8.
In a related development, the Madras High Court earlier criticised the practice of appointing public prosecutors and law officers based on political proximity rather than merit. While hearing a case involving an attempted rape conviction, Justice B Pugalendhi observed that such appointments sometimes extend to individuals whose only qualification is involvement in political activities like affixing posters during elections. The court noted that this has adversely affected the quality of prosecution in cases of sexual violence, particularly against women from oppressed communities.
