Description

1. For each High Court, the Central Government or State Government, after consultation with the High Court, shall appoint a Public Prosecutor and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutors to conduct any prosecution, appeal, or other proceedings in the Court on behalf of the Central Government or State Government, as the case may be.
2. The Central Government may appoint one or more Public Prosecutors to conduct cases 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, however, that the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor appointed for one district may also be appointed to serve as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor for another district.
4. The District Magistrate, in consultation with the Sessions Judge, shall prepare a panel of individuals who, in the District Magistrate's opinion, are fit to be appointed as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor 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 their name appears on the panel prepared by the District Magistrate under Sub-section (4).
6. Notwithstanding Sub-section (5), if a State has a regular cadre of Prosecuting Officers, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor only from among the persons in that cadre.
   Provided, however, that if the State Government determines that no suitable person is available in the cadre for such appointment, it may appoint someone from the panel prepared by the District Magistrate under Sub-section (4).
7. A person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor under Sub-sections (1), (2), (3), or (6) only if they have practiced as an advocate for no less than seven years.
8. The Central Government or State Government may appoint, for the purpose of any case or class of cases, a person who has practiced as an advocate for no less than ten years as a Special Public Prosecutor.
9. For the purposes of Sub-sections (7) and (8), any period during which a person has practiced as a pleader, or has served (whether before or after the commencement of this Code) as a Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor, Assistant Public Prosecutor, or other Prosecuting Officer (by whatever title) shall be deemed as a period of practice as an advocate.