Section 9: Conduct of Prosecution

(1) A prosecutor shall be responsible for the conduct of prosecution on behalf of the government in― (a) all cases tribal before the courts of sessions and courts of magistrates in Islamabad. (b) all cases tribal by special courts on a police report or other report submitted by a Federal agency. (2) A police report under section 173 of the Code, including a report of cancellation of the FIR or a request for a discharge of a suspect or an accused or a complaint by a public servant authorized to file a complaint shall be submitted to the court through the prosecutor. (3) A prosecutor shall review the police report or the complaint, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of the Code, this Act and code of conduct. (4) Where a prosecutor requires clarifications, or is of the view that additional evidence needs to be collected, he may return the police report or complaint with one or more of the following directions: (f) to clarify the method of collection of evidence; (g) to explain why a particular line of inquiry was not followed: (h) to explain why a defence was not considered; or (i) to collect additional evidence. (5) The response of the police shall be submitted within the least practicable time but not later than the time indicated by the prosecutor. (6) On receipt of the response under sub-section (5) or where no response is received a prosecutor shall assess the case on the basis of the available evidence and inform the trial court of the results of his assessment and names of the accused persons who may stand trial on the basis of that assessment. (7) The magistrate shall give due consideration to the report of the prosecutor. Where a magistrate acts differently than the recommendations of the Prosecutor, he may refuse to act on the directions of the magistrate subject to the approval of the— (a) Federal Prosecutor General in case of offences punishable with death or life imprisonment; (b) prosecutor-in-charge in case of special courts for all other offences; and (c) District Public Prosecutor in case of offences tribal before the court of sessions or the court of magistrates for all other offences. (8) Where an accused pleads guilty or when the prosecutor sums up the case, the prosecutor shall propose to the magistrate or the court, the punishment which in his opinion the accused may be awarded.

Effective date: 2023-10-26

Related sections