Madhya Pradesh High Court expresses displeasure over appointment of incompetent government counsels

Expressing its displeasure over the appointment of incompetent Public Prosecutors and Government Advocates, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh has directed the ruling dispensation to take steps in the matter.

Hearing an anticipatory bail application of a rape accused, the Single-Judge Bench of Justice Deepak Kumar Agarwal said he was surprised by various difficulties being faced by the judges due to incompetent state counsels.

The High Court took note of the fact that incompetent Public Prosecutors and Government Advocates, appointed by the state government, were not properly arguing the matters and also not assisting the court in a helpful manner on a day-to-day basis.

In her complaint, the survivor had alleged that she was taken to Jhansi on the false pretext of marriage by one Sunil Rawat along with his friends, one of whom was the applicant in this case. The main accused allegedly took her to Raipur, where he rented a room and sexually assaulted her. Thereafter, he refused to marry her.

The Counsel appearing for the State of Madhya Pradesh opposed the bail application and prayed for its rejection.

The lawyer representing the applicant submitted that he was being falsely implicated in the case. He said the only allegation against the applicant was that he went to Jhansi along with the survivor and accused and left them at the railway station.

The High Court, after considering the facts in the matter, granted anticipatory bail to the applicant on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one solvent surety in the like amount.

The Single-Judge Bench directed the Law Secretary Bhopal to take steps regarding the incompetent appointments.

The State government was represented by Public Prosecutor Ankita Mathur.

(Case title: Abhishek vs State of Madhya Pradesh)