Kerala High Court sets one-week deadline for State to frame guidelines on appointment of Public Prosecutors

The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the State government to frame guidelines for appointing Public Prosecutors under Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 within one week [Adv Sudheer PS v State of Kerala & ors]..The Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Syam Kumar VM also warned that coercive directives may be passed against the State if it fails to come up with such guidelines on time."If steps have not been taken as per the judgment dated 9 April 2025 in W.P.(C)No.23838 of 2021, necessary measures can be taken without waiting for further coercive orders from this Court," the Court added..The order was passed on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by a lawyer, advocate Sudheer PS (petitioner), who contended that there was no transparent procedure in place for the selection of Public Prosecutors in district courts..In his plea, the petitioner submitted that the appointment of capable and meritorious Public Prosecutors was linked to the fundamental right to a fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution. He added that he filed the PIL on behalf of himself and several other lawyers who were eligible to be appointed and wished to be considered for the post of Public Prosecutor.The petitioner pointed out that in April 2025, this Court had already directed the government to prepare internal guidelines in accordance with Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which lays down the statutory procedure for appointing Public Prosecutors.However, the State did not frame any guidelines, despite that direction..The petition added that the absence of such guidelines for the appointment of Public Prosecutors has allowed arbitrariness and politically influenced selections.The PIL highlighted that even after the High Court's April ruling, the District Collector of Kollam issued a notice on November 7, 2025, inviting applications for the post of Additional Public Prosecutor without specifying meaningful eligibility criteria.The petitioner argued that the notice vaguely mentioned that applicants should have experience in appearing in serious sessions court cases, but did not define what constituted a serious case or how such experience would be assessed.Such vagueness would give authorities unbridled discretion and prevent sessions judges from fairly evaluating a candidate's merit, the petitioner said.The petition also stressed that Section 18 of the BNSS prescribed a structured and mandatory process, including consultation by the District Magistrate with the sessions judge and the preparation of a panel of suitable lawyers.The petition stated that issuing indefinite recruitment notifications without any guidelines diluted the statutory safeguards provided under Section 18 of the BNSS and violated constitutional principles of equality, fairness, and non-arbitrariness under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. .The petitioner thus urged the High Court to quash the Kollam Collector's Public Prosecutor recruitment notification and direct the State to frame guidelines in accordance with Section 18 of the BNSS.The petitioner had also called on the Court to declare the appointment of competent Public Prosecutors as a fundamental right necessary for a fair trial.The case has been posted to December 4, 2025, for further hearing..Advocates SK Adhithyan, Shahina Noushad, Krishna S Karunakaran, and Anu Chandrakumar appeared for the petitioner..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.