Kerala High Court Directs State to Frame Transparent Guidelines for Public Prosecutor Appointments Under BNSS

The Kerala High Court has directed the state government to frame comprehensive guidelines for the appointment of public prosecutors under section 18(3) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. 

The bench noted that current practices often bypass the district judges’ inputs, leading to appointments without proper scrutiny.

The court emphasized that the guidelines must ensure a transparent, merit-based selection process, giving due primacy to the opinions of district judges, to promote competent and effective legal representation in criminal cases under the new procedural framework.

The directive comes in response to a PIL highlighting these gaps.