Kerala High Court appoints Amicus in plea to monitor performance of prosecutors

A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court seeking a vigilance probe into the death of S Aneesha/Aneeshya, an Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) from Kollam district who was found dead on January 21 this year. [Usha PE v. State of Kerala].Justice K Babu on Wednesday appointed advocate John S Ralph as amicus curiae to assist it in considering the plea which also sought regular monitoring of the performance of prosecutors across the State by an independent agency..The petition was moved by one Usha PE who claims to be a social worker and the convenor of "Aneeshya Aikyadarya Samithi", an organisation which seeks justice for the late Assistant Public Prosecutor.Aneeshya was an Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) at the Paravoor Munsiff Magistrate Court in Kollam district.According to the petitioner, Aneeshya faced constant mental harassment from the Deputy Director of Prosecution (DPP) Abdul Jaleel, and another APP Shyam Krishna.On one occasion, she was unable to appear in a matter due to health issues following which Jaleel and Krishnan allegedly sent insulting messages about her in an official WhatsApp group used by prosecutors.According to the petition, several APPs would not attend office regularly but would mark their attendance nonetheless. When Aneeshya filed an RTI application through a lawyer friend seeking details of APPs who fail to attend office, Jaleel and Krishnan allegedly dialled up their harassment against her. The petition alleged that Aneeshya was publicly insulted and that it was done in pursuance of a conspiracy hatched between Jaleel, Krishna and other prosecutors to threaten her to compel her to withdraw the RTI application.Even though a crime was registered by the Police once Aneeshya was found dead, there has been no fruitful investigation so far, petition stated..Interestingly, almost identical allegations were made by Aneeshya's mother in a petition moved by her before the High Court seeking a CBI probe into her daughter's death..Plea before Kerala High Court seeks CBI probe into death of Assistant Public Prosecutor.In the present petition, Usha contended that offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act are also involved in this case since Krishna and other prosecutors allegedly marked their attendance illegally..Therefore, Usha has also sought directions to the State government to create specific rules and guidelines to ensure accountability and prevent unethical practices among APPs and their superiors..The matter is likely be heard next on April 12..The petitioner was represented by advocates VI Rahul and Anas B..[Read Order]