Section 18 BNSS: Public Prosecutors (Formerly Section 24 CrPC)

Section 18 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Public Prosecutors

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(1) For every High Court, the Central Government or the State Government shall, after consultation with the High Court, appoint a Public Prosecutor and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutors, for conducting in such Court, any prosecution, appeal or other proceeding on behalf of the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be:

Provided that for National Capital Territory of Delhi, the Central Government shall, after consultation with the High Court of Delhi, appoint the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutors for the purposes of this sub-section.

(2) The Central Government may appoint one or more Public Prosecutors for the purpose of conducting any case in any district or local area.

(3) For every district, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutors for the district:

Provided that the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor appointed for one district may be appointed also to be a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor, as the case may be, for another district.

(4) The District Magistrate shall, in consultation with the Sessions Judge, prepare a panel of names of persons, who are, in his opinion fit to be appointed as Public Prosecutors or Additional Public Prosecutors for the district.

(5) No person shall be appointed by the State Government as the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor for the district unless his name appears in the panel of names prepared by the District Magistrate under sub-section (4).

(6) Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (5), where in a State there exists a regular Cadre of Prosecuting Officers, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor only from among the persons constituting such Cadre:

Provided that where, in the opinion of the State Government, no suitable person is available in such Cadre for such appointment, that Government may appoint a person as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor, as the case may be, from the panel of names prepared by the District Magistrate under sub-section (4).

Explanation — —For the purposes of this sub-section,—

(a) "regular Cadre of Prosecuting Officers" means a Cadre of Prosecuting Officers which includes therein the post of Public Prosecutor, by whatever name called, and which provides for promotion of Assistant Public Prosecutors, by whatever name called, to that post;

(b) "Prosecuting Officer" means a person, by whatever name called, appointed to perform the functions of a Public Prosecutor, Special Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor under this Sanhita.

(7) A person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (6), only if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years.

(8) The Central Government or the State Government may appoint, for the purposes of any case or class of cases, a person who has been in practice as an advocate for not less than ten years as a Special Public Prosecutor:

Provided that the Court may permit the victim to engage an advocate of his choice to assist the prosecution under this sub-section.

(9) For the purposes of sub-section (7) and sub-section (8), the period during which a person has been in practice as an advocate, or has rendered (whether before or after the commencement of this Sanhita) service as a Public Prosecutor or as an Additional Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor or other Prosecuting Officer, by whatever name called, shall be deemed to be the period during which such person has been in practice as an advocate.

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Public Prosecutor Sec 2(1)(r) Victim Sec 2(1)(w)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 18

Section 18 mandates the appointment of Public Prosecutors, Additional Public Prosecutors, and Special Public Prosecutors for High Courts and Sessions Courts, laying down mandatory eligibility criteria and institutional independence.

High Court & Sessions Appointments: Central or State Government appoints Public Prosecutors and Additional Public Prosecutors after consultation with the High Court or Sessions Judge.
Eligibility Criteria: Minimum 7 years of active practice as an advocate for PP/Addl PP; minimum 10 years of practice for Special Public Prosecutor.
Directorate of Prosecution Linkage: Appointments must align with the State Directorate of Prosecution and regular prosecutorial cadres.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Babu v. State of Kerala (2010) 9 SCC 189: The Supreme Court settled that a Public Prosecutor is an officer of the court and a minister of justice, whose duty is not to obtain convictions at all costs but to assist the court in arriving at the truth.
Subhash Chander v. State (1980) 2 SCC 155: The Supreme Court ruled that a Public Prosecutor cannot act as a post office or rubber stamp of the executive government; prosecutorial discretion to conduct or withdraw prosecution must be exercised independently.
Centre for Public Interest Litigation v. Union of India (2012) 3 SCC 117: Affirmed that Special Public Prosecutors in high-profile corruption or human rights trials must be individuals of unimpeachable integrity.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Challenge any notification appointing a Special Public Prosecutor where the appointee was privately paid by the complainant or victim. A prosecutor cannot be an instrument of private vengeance.