Ahmedabad: In an important administrative decision, the state govt on Wednesday shifted all the affairs related to prosecution in criminal cases in all courts across the state from the state legal department to the home department.
With this decision, the important function of regulating the services of the public prosecutors across all courts including the district courts and the Gujarat high court will henceforth fall under the purview of the state home department.
Besides appointment of the public prosecutors and assistant/additional public prosecutors, the appointment of special prosecutors too will be governed by the home department. Thus, the home department, which primarily governs the police services, will also manage the aspect of court proceedings in criminal cases, which are investigated by the police agencies.
In a resolution, the state legal department has stated that it has received an order from the state govt that all the branches under the purview of the legal department that have been looking after the criminal prosecutions have hitherto been transferred to the state home department. It states that the B-1 branch, which looks after the criminal cases in the districts, will transfer the subjects, records, registrar and staff allotted to it to the state home department.
Similarly, the B-branch in the legal department, which looks after the appeals filed against the verdicts in criminal cases, will also transfer its resources to the state home department.
Earlier, Section 18 of the CrPC, and now Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNNS) empowered the state govt to appoint and regulate the services of the prosecutors.
In an important administrative decision, the state govt on Wednesday shifted all the affairs related to prosecution in criminal cases in all courts across the state from the state legal department to the home department.
With this decision, the important function of regulating the services of the public prosecutors across all courts including the district courts and the Gujarat high court will henceforth fall under the purview of the state home department.
Besides appointment of the public prosecutors and assistant/additional public prosecutors, the appointment of special prosecutors too will be governed by the home department. Thus, the home department, which primarily governs the police services, will also manage the aspect of court proceedings in criminal cases, which are investigated by the police agencies.
In a resolution, the state legal department has stated that it has received an order from the state govt that all the branches under the purview of the legal department that have been looking after the criminal prosecutions have hitherto been transferred to the state home department. It states that the B-1 branch, which looks after the criminal cases in the districts, will transfer the subjects, records, registrar and staff allotted to it to the state home department.
Similarly, the B-branch in the legal department, which looks after the appeals filed against the verdicts in criminal cases, will also transfer its resources to the state home department.
Earlier, Section 18 of the CrPC, and now Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNNS) empowered the state govt to appoint and regulate the services of the prosecutors.