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MUMBAI, June 17: The Public Prosecutors (PPs) at the City Civil and Sessions Court today complained to Principal Judge A S Aguiar about the...

MUMBAI, June 17: The Public Prosecutors (PPs) at the City Civil and Sessions Court today complained to Principal Judge A S Aguiar about the delay caused by the court registrar’s office in issuing certified copies of judgements.

The PPs had to write to Judge Aguiar following six months’ delay in the deliverance of the copy of a judgement given in January this year. The copy reached the PP’s office today without proper endorsement. Judge M R Bhatkar had delivered the judgement on January 13, 1997. The copy was ready with the registrar’s office in February. A seal on the copy clearly shows

it reached the registrar’s office in February this year. Surprisingly, it was not furnished to the PP’s office till today. In fact, the unendorsed copy reached its destination only after Judge Bhatkar lambasted officials from the registrar’s office. The prosecutors complain that such delays prolong their procedure of appealing in higher courts. They have requested the PJ to hasten up issuing of certified copies.

If the state wants to appeal in higher courts against any judgement, it has to follow a lengthy procedure. A certified copy of the judgement is sent to the Law and Judiciary department of the state government. The government then takes its own time to go through it and seek expert opinion, after which it decides if an appeal is to be made or not.

“This procedure takes months and the state pins the blame on us. If we do not get the copies on time, how are we supposed to follow the procedure? On the contrary, advocates of the accused get the copy of the judgement immediately,” complained one of the PPs, adding that copies are ready in a month and should be immediately despatched.