HC to hear on Nov 9 plea against appointment of special public prosecutors in Delhi violence cases

New Delhi [India], October 21 : The Delhi High Court will hear on November 9 a petition challenging the decision of appointment of Special Public Prosecutors, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, in cases pertaining to the violence in northeast Delhi in February this year.
A bench of Justice Navin Chawla on Wednesday adjourned the matter for November 9.
The High Court was hearing a petition filed by Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association (DPWA) seeking to quash the Delhi government's June 24 notification appointing eleven special public prosecutors in the northeast Delhi violence cases.
The petition, filed by advocates Aditya Kapoor, Kushal Kumar, Manika Goswamy and Akash Dep Gupta, for Erudite Legal, said that the appointments of special public prosecutors were based on the recommendations of the police.
The plea said that notification has been issued in blatant violation of the objectives and schemes envisaged under Section 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure(CrPC).
The petitioner also submitted that there were differences of opinion between the Lieutenant Governor and Delhi government on the recommendation of special public prosecutors.
Amidst the dispute, the Lieutenant Governor intervened and decided to proceed with the names recommended by the Delhi Police and the same led to a confrontation between the Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi Government, the plea said.
The association said that there are no criteria provided as to how these advocates are chosen or whether they have experience in conducting the riots cases or whether they have conducted sufficient numbers of cases earlier or what experience they have.
The appointment of the special public prosecutors on the recommendation of Delhi Police is a divergence from the principles of free and fair trial which is part of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the plea said.