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KARACHI, July 31: The fate of over 80,000 criminal cases pending in various courts hangs in the balance while the provincial government drags its feet over making functional the Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service (SCPS), set up to facilitate the impartial and expeditious dispensation of justice.
The SCPS was constituted by the governor of Sindh on May 13 with the promulgation of the Sindh Criminal Prosecution Services (constitution, functions and powers) Ordinance 2007. The aim was to ensure the speedy disposal of cases, as well as independent prosecution in cases where justice was doubted, such as those investigated and prosecuted by the police department.
Sources told Dawn on Tuesday that the body has so far failed to take off because of delays in the provision of offices and staff. Additional prosecutors-general and deputy prosecutors-general are yet to be appointed, they said, while the records of the criminal cases have also not been handed over the SCPS.
Rana Shamim, appointed the Sindh Prosecutor-General (SPG) on May 16 through a notification by the provincial chief secretary, told Dawn that the office of the Advocate-General is ready to hand over the records of criminal cases pending disposal in the higher courts, but “the SCPS has no offices to keep these records.”
However, Ishaq Lashari, the secretary of the SCPS, stated that offices have been acquired in the old State Bank Building and renovation work is underway. “We hope to have the work completed within a fortnight,” he said.
The SCPS secretariat, which is housed in the KDA Building near the Income Tax Building, has been functional for the past year.
Currently, district attorneys, deputy district attorneys and special public prosecutors work under the administrative control of the provincial law department and the solicitor’s office. Meanwhile, assistant district attorneys (prosecution inspectors of the police) and prosecution deputy superintendents of the police fall under the administrative control of the Home Department.
According to Sindh Prosecutor-General Rana Shamim, almost 90 per cent of the district attorneys, deputy district attorneys, special public prosecutors and prosecution deputy superintendents of the police have chosen to join the SCPS under Section 84 of the relevant ordinance.
He further said that nine additional-prosecutors general (APGs), 11 deputy-prosecutors general (DPGs) and the special public prosecutor are to be appointed through the Sindh Public Service Commission, which could further delay the functioning of the SCPS. However, sources claimed that the prosecutors’ appointments could be made on contract basis to kick-start and streamline the disposal of pending cases.
The APGs and DPGs will be appointed to deal with criminal cases in the Sindh High Court and the Supreme Court, while those already working as assistant advocates-general will be given the option of joining the SCPS in either position. As many as 27 district public prosecutors are to be appointed to prosecute cases before district and sessions courts across the province, in addition to 93 deputy district prosecutors for assistant and additional sessions courts and 214 assistant district prosecutors for the courts of judicial magistrates across the province.
Headed by the Sindh Prosecutor-General, the SCPS will control and supervise investigations into criminal cases conducted by the police department and other investigation wings. It has the power to withdraw the FIR of a criminal case the SCPS deems unfit for prosecution.
Pointing out the importance of such a body, sources said that most criminal cases are lost in court because of inefficient investigations conducted by incompetent police investigators, and unskilled prosecutors. The conviction rate, one of the performance indicators for investigation and prosecution agencies, stands at an abysmal 14 per cent in Pakistan. By contrast, it is over 37 per cent in India, over 90 per cent in the UK and over 80 per cent in the US, said the sources.
It is mandatory for the police and other investigation wings to send an FIR to the Sindh Prosecutor-General within 48 hours of it being registered. However, the SCPS is yet to receive its first FIR, Dawn has learnt.
