Appointment of APPs: HC issues show cause to Telangana home secretary
HYDERABAD: Annoyed over the delay of the state government in filling up 174 Additional Public Prosecutors’ (APPs) posts despite the court orders, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to Ravi Gupta, principal secretary of the state home department as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy was unhappy with the government apathy in implementing the court directions. The court observed that it seemed as if the government was of opinion that it was doing a favour to the court by implementing its orders.
Litigants are suffering a lot as criminal cases have been pending for several years. Most of the criminal courts in the state do not have full-time APPs. As it came to the notice of the court that 50 per cent of posts of APPs have been vacant in the state, the High Court had directed to fill the posts. On April 1, 2021, the court, on request of the government counsel, had given last chance and directed him to submit an affidavit regarding the appointments.
On Wednesday, the counsel for home, requested some more time to implement the court orders. Justice Kohli disapproved the request and observed that the state government was in deep slumber and it seemed it wanted all criminal courts to also to be in deep slumber. “Should we put a gun on your heads to make you do administration work and implement court orders? Do you (the government) think that you are doing a favour to the judiciary or courts by filling the posts? It is the duty of the state. Your inaction is hampering the criminal justice system in the entire state,” the CJ said.
Giving one last chance, the court said if the process for appointment would not be taken up in 15 days, it would issue a contempt case against the principal secretary of home. “Later, you cannot fault the court for the contempt case, she made it clear and adjourned the case to July 7.
