Public Prosecutors
Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with public Prosecutors. For every High Court, the Central Government or the State Government shall, after consultation with the High Court, appoint a Public Prosecutor and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutors, for conducting in such Court, any prosecution, appeal or other proceeding on behalf of the C The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) For every High Court, the Central Government or the State Government shall, after consultation with the High Court, appoint a Public Prosecutor and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutors, for conducting in such Court, any prosecution, appeal or other proceeding on behalf of the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be:
Provided that for National Capital Territory of Delhi, the Central Government shall, after consultation with the High Court of Delhi, appoint the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutors for the purposes of this sub-section.
(2) The Central Government may appoint one or more Public Prosecutors for the purpose of conducting any case in any district or local area.
(3) For every district, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutors for the district:
Provided that the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor appointed for one district may be appointed also to be a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor, as the case may be, for another district.
(4) The District Magistrate shall, in consultation with the Sessions Judge, prepare a panel of names of persons, who are, in his opinion fit to be appointed as Public Prosecutors or Additional Public Prosecutors for the district.
(5) No person shall be appointed by the State Government as the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor for the district unless his name appears in the panel of names prepared by the District Magistrate under sub-section (4).
(6) Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (5), where in a State there exists a regular Cadre of Prosecuting Officers, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor only from among the persons constituting such Cadre:
Provided that where, in the opinion of the State Government, no suitable person is available in such Cadre for such appointment, that Government may appoint a person as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor, as the case may be, from the panel of names prepared by the District Magistrate under sub-section (4).
Explanation.---For the purposes of this sub-section,---
(a) "regular Cadre of Prosecuting Officers" means a Cadre of Prosecuting Officers which includes therein the post of Public Prosecutor, by whatever name called, and which provides for promotion of Assistant Public Prosecutors, by whatever name called, to that post;
(b) "Prosecuting Officer" means a person, by whatever name called, appointed to perform the functions of a Public Prosecutor, Special Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor under this Sanhita.
(7) A person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (6), only if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years.
(8) The Central Government or the State Government may appoint, for the purposes of any case or class of cases, a person who has been in practice as an advocate for not less than ten years as a Special Public Prosecutor:
Provided that the Court may permit the victim to engage an advocate of his choice to assist the prosecution under this sub-section.
(9) For the purposes of sub-section (7) and sub-section (8), the period during which a person has been in practice as an advocate, or has rendered (whether before or after the commencement of this Sanhita) service as a Public Prosecutor or as an Additional Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor or other Prosecuting Officer, by whatever name called, shall be deemed to be the period during which such person has been in practice as an advocate
Section 18, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 24 Public Prosecutors Text carried over almost unchanged 94%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Margadarsi Financiers vs The State of Andhra Pradesh
Decided under Code of Criminal Procedure 24, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A designated Senior Advocate cannot be appointed as a Special Public Prosecutor under Section 24(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, because such appointment would require the Senior Advocate to directly file applications and conduct prosecutions, which violates the mandatory restrictions imposed on Senior Advocates under the Rules framed under the Advocates Act, 1961. Additionally, while the procedure prescribed under Sub-sections 4 and 5 of Section 24 CrPC (panel preparation and consultation) is not mandatory for Special Public Prosecutor appointments under Sub-section 8, the restrictions on Senior Advocates' practice are absolute and cannot be circumvented by government appointment.
On this section: Comprehensive analysis of the statutory framework for appointment of Public Prosecutors, Additional Public Prosecutors, and Special Public Prosecutors; distinction between mandatory consultation/panel procedures for district appointments versus discretionary appointment of Special Public Prosecutors
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… while making appointments to the post of Public Prosecutor under Section 18(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (Section 24(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure). 24.2 The State Government will frame internal administrative guidelines in strict conformity with Sections 18(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court enumerated above. Such guidelines will contain the stipulations and methodology to ensure that the opinion of the District Judge is given primacy. Any guideline issued by the State Government that contravenes this …
Questions about Section 18
What have the courts held on Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Margadarsi Financiers vs The State of Andhra Pradesh (20 Mar 2009) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under CRPC 24, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Comprehensive analysis of the statutory framework for appointment of Public Prosecutors, Additional Public Prosecutors, and Special Public Prosecutors; distinction between mandatory consultation/panel procedures for district appointments versus discretionary appointment of Special Public Prosecutors.
How do I find court cases under Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNSS 18, section 18 BNSS, section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Margadarsi Financiers vs The State of Andhra Pradesh (20 Mar 2009).
What should I read with Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward CrPC 24 (Public Prosecutors), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 18, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 359. Compounding of offences1355 words
- 187. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours1122 words
- 2. Definitions956 words
- 243. Trial for more than one offence930 words
- 35. When police may arrest without warrant881 words
- 480. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence823 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.