About Us
THE DIRECTOR
Tmt. G. Chitra Devi, M.A., B.L.,
Director of Prosecution
After completing her bachelor‘s degree in law from the Dr. Ambetkar Government Law College, Pondicherry in the Year 1989, She started practice as a Advocate before the High Court at Madras. She had been instrumental in securing Justice in many crucial cases and has represented the cause of Public before the Highest Court through very many litigations. She entered the Government Service as a Grade II Prosecutor in the year 1996 and after occupying various positions in her carrier got selected and appointed as the Director of Prosecution on 01.04.2020. In her tenure as Director of Prosecution She is supervising the functioning of the Prosecutors across the state, monitoring the disposal of trail cases in various courts and regulating the conduct of the prosecutors in their respective courts. The director of prosecution is the chief functionary of the prosecuting agency and is vested with the powers of control over all Prosecuting Officers. The Director of Prosecution conducts review meetings, and periodically scrutinizes the conduct of cases in each district. The Director would make frequent field visits to make personal review of the functioning of the prosecuting officers in the field and is also assigned with the duty to making inquiries in respect of allegation of misconduct received against prosecutors. The Director also participates in coordination meetings with police officers and She is representing the Directorate in various conferences held by the Higher Judiciary and by the State government. She is the face of the department and is effectively discharging her administrative duties with the highest decree of integrity and sincerity.
Introduction
The aim of the Criminal Justice delivery -system in India is not only to punish the criminal but also to prevent crimes in feature, enabling the people to live in a peaceful society. History reveals that every king in India had his own way of regulating crime under his Kingdom. However there was no codification for punishments of offences, nor did they have any prescribed procedure for the trial. With the advancement of time, offences were codified and a trial procedure was laid down. The present criminal justice system in India was established by the British east India Company during the pre independence era. However after independence it has seen many changes and modifications. Various committees were setup time to time, to recommend changes in this system and suggest measures to control the rate of crime in the country. In the wisdom of the law makers of our country there are now four important components of the criminal justice delivery system which are listed below, which includes Police, Courts, Prosecution and Prison departments
A crime is always committed against the society at large and not against a particular individual. There is always a victim who suffers at the hands of a criminal, but creates fear in the minds of people at large and therefore the State takes cognizance of the offence. The very functioning of the State is based on the concept of “Social Contract theory” which states that the State collects duties and taxes from its people and reciprocally as the duty to maintain the law and order in that society. So whenever a crime leads to disturb the law and order, the state becomes the party to that proceeding and agitates on behalf of the affected victim. The public prosecutor is the face of the State before the courts and is considered as an agent of the State representing the interests of the common man in the Criminal Justice Delivery system.
List of Director's of Prosecution & Nominal Roll of Prosecution
HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION
The Directorate of Prosecution is an independent authority responsible for prosecuting criminal cases throughout the state of Tamil Nadu. It supervisors and monitors the various subordinate courts across the state. The principal function of the directorate of prosecution is to have administrative control over the Prosecution Machinery
The Department of Prosecution in Tamil Nadu was created in the year 1995.
The Directorate of Prosecution has been established by the Government of Tamil Nadu and Presently the Department of Prosecution is headed by The Director of Prosecution. The department functions under the control of Home Department, Government of Tamil Nadu in the name DIRECTORATE OF PROSECUTION.
The Posts of Director of Prosecution, The Joint Director of Prosecution and the posts of the Deputy Director(s) of Prosecution are made by the Government with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of High Court of Madras
Prior to this, the State Government was appointing a Police Officer from the Indian Police Service as Director of Prosecution, thereby bringing all the Prosecutors, subordinate to the said Police Officer.
The legality of the appointment of a Police Officer as the Director of Prosecution was challenged before the Hon’ble High Court Vide Writ Petition (MD) No. 222/2009 and the Hon’ble High Court by way of its order dated 26.11.2009 held that the appointment of a Police Officer as Director of Prosecution is contrary to section 25-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Adhering to the principle of separation of prosecutors from the control or supervision in any form by the Police, which will only invade the independence of the institution of prosecutors, the Director is selected from the Prosecution Department with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of our High Court.
CORE VALUES
OUR CORE VALUES:
The Directorate of Prosecution is committed in providing high quality prosecution service to the victims in criminal cases. The prosecutors defends the interest of the state and not that of the Police. The objective of any criminal trial is to investigate the crime and decide the guilt or the innocence of the accused. It is the prosecutor’s primary responsibility to assist the court in determining the truth of the case, even if it is against the interest of the prosecuting agency. The prosecutors thus carries out his duties in a fair , fearless and responsible manner. The prosecutors plays an independent role at every step of the criminal proceeding in order to unearth the truth before the court of law.
VISION AND MISSION
VISION :
- To establish a Just, fair, and independent agency to prosecute the criminal cases before various courts of law.
- To make a positive difference in the society through the criminal Justice system and provide expeditious pursuit of Justice.
- To establish a dynamic Prosecution Service recognized for its excellence and global standards by creating strong prosecutors.
- To increase the trust of Public on the Prosecuting Institution, discharge of duties through fairness, transparency, accountability, and cooperation.
MISSION:
- To implement policies and the reformations in law as directed by Government and the Judiciary
- Reducing the pendency of cases and increasing the rate of conviction in criminal cases
- Timely service, adoption of sensitive and respectful behavior towards victims and witnesses in the prosecution process
- Effective, Efficient and equitable administration of Justice
- To make a significant contribution to the maintenance of social order and to the establishment of safe and secure society
Responsibility
- To ensure effective prosecution in the entire state of Tamil Nadu, in all cases under trial in all Magistrate Courts and special courts constituted for trial against Legislators and the Special Courts under Protection of Children from sexual Offences Act, other specified special Acts.
INNOVATION
Role of a prosecutor in pre trail stage:-
During the pre-trial stage the police are competent to conduct investigation without any external influence and submit a final report to the court. The report submitted by the investigating officer would be scrutinized by the prosecutor of the concern court as per the order’s of our High Court to ascertain the veracity of the charges alleged by the investigating officer and to evaluate the substantial evidence provided by the investigating officers in support of the charges.
Witness Help Desk
The office of every prosecutor before all magistrate courts, special courts for POCSO and MP/MLA, are construed to be help desks for the victims and witnesses. The prosecutors conducting trail would be present in their respective offices at office hours and the witnesses are free to approach them to have a discussion about their case before or after the court hours.
PROSECUTOR’S RESPONSE:
- Act with integrity, by behaving ethically and professionally and adhering to public service values
- Communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing, and actively listen to others and respond in a respectful way
- Be courageous, by being open and honest, prepared to express professional views and willing to accept and commit to change
- Be accountable, by taking responsibility for actions, adhering to legislation and policy and using resources efficiently
- Be adaptive, by planning and achieving priority outcomes, responding in a flexible manner and participating in initiatives that encourage positive change across the vision
- Promote a supportive environment, by showing respect for diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, accepting differing opinions and views and working collaboratively
- Never stop learning, by adopting and maintaining a commitment to ongoing learning and development.