Delhi High Court Directs State To Decide Representation Objecting To Biometric Attendance Of Public Prosecutors
The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government to decide within four weeks a representation filed by Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association objecting to requirement of biometric attendance of public prosecutors.
The court was hearing a plea moved by the Association seeking directions to quash Delhi Government circulars on mandatory biometric attendance of public prosecutors or in the alternative, keep the implementation of the Circulars in abeyance and introduce a practical and court-centric attendance mechanism for Public Prosecutors.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in her order said:
"...this Court finds it appropriate to direct that the present petition filed before this Court be treated as a representation on behalf of the petitioner, and the respondents are directed to decide the same, within a period of four weeks from date, under intimation to the petitioner herein, after giving a personal hearing to the petitioner"
The plea stated that the Delhi Government introduced biometric attendance for government departments, including the Directorate of Prosecution, with effect from 08.04.2026. Pending installation of the biometric system, the Prosecutors were required to mark physical attendance from 27.04.2026.
The Petitioner Association had submitted a representation dated 28.04.2026, objecting to the requirement on the ground that Public Prosecutors, being officers of the Court, are required to attend different courts and, in the course of their duties, visit police stations and other locations.
It was contended that the said representation was neither considered nor decided. Despite this, the Directorate directed the Prosecutors, vide communications dated 16.07.2026 and 21.07.2026, to register themselves on AEBAS(Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System).
The subsequent representations submitted by the Petitioner Association also remained undecided, while the Home Department directed implementation of AEBAS in district offices and court complexes vide communications dated 24.07.2026, 31.07.2026 and 03.08.2026.
The petitioner association challenged mandatory implementation of AEBAS for Public Prosecutors, contending that the system is impractical having regard to the nature of their duties and that their presence is otherwise reflected in the court records and proceedings.
The petitioner contended that the authorities had proceeded with its implementation without considering the representations submitted by the Petitioner Association.
The court disposed of the plea granting liberty to the petitioner to approach the high court in a fresh plea in case of any further grievance.
Case title: DELHI PROSECUTORS WELFARE ASSOCIATION v/s STATE GNCT OF DELHI AND ANR
W.P.(C) 11846/2026