Noida: In a district where roughly 300 cases are instituted daily and another 2,000 are disposed of, just three prosecution officers handle the workload at magisterial courts, the entry point for most criminal cases.Uttar Pradesh’s prosecution system is organised into 18 administrative regions, each overseen by an additional director of prosecution. District units are headed by joint directors, while senior prosecution officers (SPOs), prosecuting officers (POs) and assistant prosecution officers (APOs) are tasked with scrutinising chargesheets and representing the state in court proceedings.According to 2010 staffing norms, Noida has a sanctioned strength of one SPO, one PO and six APOs for 26 police stations mapped to 15 magisterial courts. It currently has one SPO and two POs, forcing officers to divide time across multiple courtrooms and widening the gap between caseload and capacity.Prosecution officer Gaurav Pandey told TOI that the workload is time-bound. “Almost every criminal case reaches us, and we have to check the police report. If they are in accordance with law, we assist in making the case file and preparing for arguments. Sometimes we have less than 30 seconds per case.” He acknowledged that the shortage often leads to matters being listed without effective representation.Prosecution work begins at the earliest stage of criminal proceedings. APOs at the entry level, followed by POs and SPOs, review police papers, verify charges and prepare cases for hearings. After magistrate-level scrutiny, matters that proceed to trial are handled by district government counsels and public prosecutors at the sessions stage.PO Rajesh Kumar Shukla said each court or police station ideally needs dedicated prosecution support. “One person can attend only one court at a time, but matters are listed in all courts simultaneously. With only three officers, it is not possible to manage the entire load,” he said.Officers said they routinely process 80-100 case files a day, focusing mainly on verification of sections and charges, while more complex matters receive limited but prioritised scrutiny due to time constraints.Court data show around 9,000 cases were filed in the district court last month, or roughly 300 a day. About 60,000 cases were also disposed of across courts in the same period, with magisterial courts handling the bulk of the workload.Officials and prosecutors say the manpower gap is increasingly reflected in both pendency and case quality. A prosecution officer, speaking anonymously, said inadequate staffing weakens scrutiny of chargesheets and allows procedural lapses to pass into trial. He added that strengthening the cadre could improve conviction outcomes and reduce dependence on poorly prepared filings. “We cannot allow arbitrary charges to pass unchecked, but with the current workload, it becomes difficult to examine every file in detail,” he said.The district has about 9.18 lakh pending cases, including 8.47 lakh at the magisterial level, 22,000 sessions cases and 18,000 civil suits. Officials say the backlog reflects not only sustained inflows but also staffing constraints in the lower judiciary. And the shortage is not limited to Noida. In neighbouring Ghaziabad, all 16 sanctioned APO posts are vacant. The district has nine prosecution officers, though several are expected to be transferred this month.“Our job is to ensure only legally sustainable cases go forward. But when workload is overwhelming, even weak or improperly framed charges reach court and consume judicial time,” the officer said.
