00:00A proposed constitutional amendment is raising concerns among lawyers over how
00:05much power a new public prosecutor should have. Lawyers warned that removing the
00:10Attorney General's prosecutorial discretion must not result in the public
00:14prosecutor having unfettered powers as it could undermine public confidence in
00:18the criminal justice system. They stressed the need for clear limits,
00:23especially when it comes to discontinuing criminal cases that have
00:26already reached the defense stage. Salim Bashir said it would be preposterous to
00:31allow a case to be dropped after a prima facie case is established, as judges
00:36would have already carefully evaluated all evidence. He added that such
00:40discontinuance would disregard the court's efforts and waste witnesses' time as well
00:44as taxpayers' money. Meanwhile, A. Sri Murugan said discretion to charge should
00:50remain, but once the defense is called, any withdrawal should be subject to the
00:54trial judge's discretion. K. A. Ramu said that criminal trials serve the public
00:59interest, and once the defense begins, there is a legitimate expectation that the
01:04case will be carried through to its conclusion.
01:08Danish Rajereza, FMT.
Comments