Breaking: Victim cannot be allowed to conduct prosecution independently, Supreme Court

A victim or a de-facto complainant, under the proviso to Section 24(8) of the CrPC, cannot be permitted to conduct prosecution either independently or in addition to the public prosecutor by putting further questions in evidence during a trial or other proceedings, the Supreme Court ruled today..A Bench of Justices Jasti Chemaleswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul held that the “law is very clear” and effectively set aside the Andhra Pradesh & Telangana High Court’s interpretation of the word “assist” in the proviso to Section 28(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)..Advocate Anitha Shenoy represented the High Court..The victim, Mahabunnisa Begum had filed a Criminal Miscellaneous petition before the Magistrate under Section 302 read with 24(8) of CrPC, to permit her to prosecute through a private advocate..The accused persons opposed the same. The Magistrate then dismissed Begum’s petition on the ground that the proviso to Section 24(8) is applicable to High Court and District Courts, but not to Magistrate courts..In a challenge to the order of the Magistrate, the High Court had ruled in favour of the victim/complainant, holding that a victim can be allowed under proviso to Section 24 (8) to conduct prosecution either independently or in addition to the public prosecutor by putting further questions in evidence during trial or in any enquiry or other proceedings..The High Court had interpreted the word “assist” in the proviso of Section 28(4) of the CrPC to mean conducting the prosecution itself and not merely assisting the public prosecutor..The High Court had stated that regardless of what is stated in Sections 225 and 226 of the CrPC, complainants will be allowed to use services of advocates of their choice for prosecution in sessions courts also. All the subordinate courts under High Court’s jurisdiction were instructed regarding this via a circular..The High Court had preferred an appeal against its own decision, in the Supreme Court..The Supreme Court today agreed with the High Court’s argument and set aside the judgment passed by the High Court.