Don’t pay salary to public prosecutor, IO till all witnesses are examined: Punjab and Haryana High Court

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, September 18

In an extraordinary order liable to ensure speedy trial, an inalienable right under Article 21 of the Constitution, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed salary payment to a public prosecutor and an investigating officer in a criminal case. The order will remain in force till all prosecution witnesses are examined before the trial court in the matter.

They deserve coercive conditions

}Since the public prosecutor and the investigating officer of the case have not performed their duties with due promptitude, therefore, they deserve to be put under some coercive conditions so as to compel them to complete the process of the trial as soon as possible. Justice Rajbir Sehrawat

The direction came after the High Court observed that the public prosecutor and the investigating officer failed to perform their duties with due promptitude. As such, they deserved to be put under some coercive conditions for compelling them to complete the process of the trial as soon as possible.

The direction by Justice Rajbir Sehrawat came in a case where not even a single witness was examined since the arrest of the petitioner-accused more than four years ago. The matter was brought to the Bench’s notice after a petition was filed by the accused against the state of Punjab and other respondents for bail in a case registered on July 26, 2018, for kidnapping, procuration of a minor girl and another offence under Sections 363, 366-A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code at the Hoshiarpur city police station.

As the matter came up for resumed hearing, Justice Sehrawat asserted it was brought to the court’s notice that the prosecutrix had been partly examined in her examination-in-chief. But no other witness was examined by the prosecution. Thereafter, the public prosecutor expressed his inclination to move an application under Section 319 of the CrPC to array an additional accused.

Taking a note of non-examination of even a single witness, Justice Sehrawat asserted the petitioner’s liberty could not be jeopardised by the prosecution’s casualness, particularly when the allegations were that the prosecutrix had accompanied and remained with him for a full week. She visited several places and stayed in hotels during the period.

“Even if the petitioner is guilty, that has to be so held by a court of law by conducting a trial in right earnest and due promptitude. However, the prosecution has abjectly failed in doing its duty of conducting prosecution proceedings appropriately,” Justice Sehrawat asserted.

Making it clear that the petitioner was not required for investigation purposes, Justice Sehrawat allowed the plea after asserting that the petitioner could not be forced to suffer incarceration without effective proceedings being conducted against him by the court.

Before parting with the case, Justice Sehrawat asked the Punjab Director (Prosecution) and the Hoshiarpur SSP to furnish a report before the court regarding the stoppage of salaries of the two officers. For the limited purpose of ensuring compliance, Justice Sehrawat fixed the matter for hearing in the second week of October .