Uttarakhand: Approval granted for the formation of a Directorate of Prosecution in every district; the system has been established under new laws

The state cabinet has approved the formation of a Directorate of Prosecution in each district of the state. This provision has been made under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (Indian Citizen Security Code), which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure. The function of these directorates will be to present the government’s case strongly in the courts and to promote speedy and transparent justice. A state-level directorate will be established in Dehradun, overseeing the district-level prosecution directorates.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita-2023 was implemented last year. This provision is included in Section 20 of the law. In light of this, the cabinet has approved the formation of the State Directorate of Prosecution in Dehradun. It will have a Director of Prosecution, and may also have Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors to assist him. The district-level directorates will be headed by a Deputy Director. Home Secretary Shailesh Bagoli stated that advocates with 15 years of practice or retired Sessions Judges will be eligible for the post of Director of Prosecution.

A committee headed by the Chief Secretary will be constituted for the selection of the Director of Prosecution. Officers with 15 years of prosecution service will be eligible for the district-level prosecution directorates. Under the new system, appeals in cases with sentences of less than seven years can be filed at the district-level directorates. For cases with longer sentences, appeals will be handled at the state-level Directorate of Prosecution by the Director of Prosecution.