Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi: The Jharkhand government has lost a legal fight in the Supreme Court against its own Additional Public Prosecutor, with the apex court dismissing the state’s petition in a dispute over the benefits of the Public Prosecutor (PP) post, which the High Court had earlier ordered the government to grant.
Dispute Over Acting PP Duties Without PP Benefits
The case concerns an Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) who was made to work as in-charge Public Prosecutor but was denied the benefits of that post even after retirement. The High Court had directed that the benefits of the PP post be given, and the state government challenged that ruling in the Supreme Court.
Career of Jai Prakash
Jai Prakash was appointed APP in undivided Bihar in 1984 and was allotted the Jharkhand cadre after the state’s bifurcation, following which he was posted as APP in Seraikela. In 2008, he was transferred from Seraikela to the Jamshedpur Civil Court and, along with his APP duties, was also given charge of the Public Prosecutor’s work for the District and Sessions Court. The government’s order of March 11, 2008 stated that he could not claim the senior post or its salary. He was later promoted to Additional Public Prosecutor and retired from that post on February 28, 2014.
Writ Petition Led to Favourable High Court Ruling
Before retiring, Jai Prakash sought salary and facilities corresponding to the PP post, which the government refused. In 2013, he filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking to strike down the condition in the 2008 order denying promotion and pay for the senior post, and to be granted PP benefits. After hearing all sides, the High Court ruled in his favour and ordered that he be given the PP’s salary and other facilities.
Supreme Court Dismisses State’s Appeal
The state appealed to the Supreme Court, where a bench of Justice A.G. Masih and Justice Sunita Agarwal heard the matter and dismissed the petition in October 2026, ending a legal battle of 13 years that the government lost to its own lawyer.
