Organisation of prosecuting agencies for prosecuting criminals

“the purpose of a criminal trial is not to support at all costs a theory but to
investigate the offence and to determine the fault or innocence of the accused and the
duty of the Public Prosecutor is to represent not the police but the Crown and his duty
should be discharged by him fairly and fearlessly and with full sense of responsibility that
attaches to his position.” -

Patna High Court in Kunja Subidhi and anr. vs. Emperor (30 Cr.L.J. 1929)

The criminal justice system in India is responsible for prosecution of offenders on

behalf of Victims. Victim has Right to a fair trial.

In criminal justice system the prosecutor plays important role in a trial. A special feature of
the administration of justice in the field of criminal law is that only a Public
Prosecutor can prosecute the case against an accused. This is reflected in the mandate
contained in section 225 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. There is no exception to
this rule.

Any private counsel engaged by the injured, or any advocate briefed by the relatives of
the deceased however influenced they may be, is not entitled to conduct the prosecution in
the sessions cases.

Public prosecutor is defined in section 2(u) of the Code as ‘any person appointed
under section 24 and includes any person acting under the direction of the Public
Prosecutor. Thus a special Public Prosecutor also would be a Public Prosecutor in respect
of a particular case or a class of cases for which he is appointed.

Law Commission of India in its 14th report on judicial administration while dealing
with the subject of prosecution agency made certain recommendations in Para
12 of Ch XXXV of Vol.11, relevant extracts are reproduced below- ‘It is obvious that
by the very fact of that being members of the police force and the nature of duties they have
to discharge like bringing a case to Court, it is not possible for them to exhibit that degree
of detachment which is necessary in a prosecutor. It is to be remembered that their
promotion in the department depends upon the number of convictions they are able to
obtain as prosecuting officers. We therefore suggest that as a first step towards
improvement, the prosecuting agency should be completely separated from the police
department. These recommendations of the law commission were accepted by the
Central Government and the parliament by enacting the Code of Criminal Procedure
1973 (Act 8 of 1974) made the necessary provision in Section 24 and 25 of Cr.P.C.

https://blog.ipleaders.in/prosecuting-agencies-india/