By IANS,
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday said lack of adequate number of public prosecutors is the main reason for the increasing pendency of cases and prisoners languishing in jails as undertrials.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Mukta Gupta asked the government as to why basic facilities like adequate space and appropriate salaries are not offered to the public prosecutors.
“These are basic requirements and should be fulfilled. If you (government) don’t give proper salary to the prosecutors then why will they fight cases for you,” the bench asked.
The Association of Public Prosecutors had pleaded that they don’t have even basic facilities to work. The court also asked the government to arrange funds for the proper training of the prosecutors.
According to the government, out of 120 sanctioned posts of prosecutors, 59 are vacant.
According to an affidavit, of 11,000 prisoners in Tihar Jail, 2,000 are convicts while the rest are facing trial.
“(Of) these, 268 prisoners are languishing in jail for more than five years and their cases are hanging on the stage of prosecution evidence,” the report by the government stated.
The court asked the government to file a status report by April 13.
The court was hearing a suo moto plea of lawyer Manish Khanna, who filed a Right to Information application on the condition of undertrials in the Tihar jail.