Every state must set up a Directorate of Prosecution under this section.

The word used is 'may', meaning it is optional for state governments, not mandatory.

The Directorate of Prosecution replaces or controls the police.

It only supervises and monitors Public Prosecutors and case progress; it has no authority over police investigation.

The Advocate General is also controlled by the Director of Prosecution.

Sub-section (12) expressly excludes the Advocate General from this section's operation while acting as Public Prosecutor.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 20

Directorate of Prosecution

(1) The State Government may establish,—§

(a) a Directorate of Prosecution in the State consisting of a Director of Prosecution and as many Deputy Directors of Prosecution as it thinks fit; and§

(b) a District Directorate of Prosecution in every district consisting of as many Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors of Prosecution, as it thinks fit.§

(2) A person shall be eligible to be appointed,—§

(a) as a Director of Prosecution or a Deputy Director of Prosecution, if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than fifteen years or is or has been a Sessions Judge;§

(b) as an Assistant Director of Prosecution, if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years or has been a Magistrate of the first class.§

(3) The Directorate of Prosecution shall be headed by the Director of Prosecution, who shall function under the administrative control of the Home Department in the State.§

(4) Every Deputy Director of Prosecution or Assistant Director of Prosecution shall be subordinate to the Director of Prosecution; and every Assistant Director of Prosecution shall be subordinate to the Deputy Director of Prosecution.§

(5) Every Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor and Special Public Prosecutor appointed by the State Government under sub-section (1) or sub-section (8) of section 18 to conduct cases in the High Court shall be subordinate to the Director of Prosecution.§

(6) Every Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor and Special Public Prosecutor appointed by the State Government under sub-section (3) or sub-section (8) of section 18 to conduct cases in District Courts and every Assistant Public Prosecutor appointed under sub-section (1) of section 19 shall be subordinate to the Deputy Director of Prosecution or the Assistant Director of Prosecution.§

(7) The powers and functions of the Director of Prosecution shall be to monitor cases in which offences are punishable for ten years or more, or with life imprisonment, or with death; to expedite the proceedings and to give opinion on filing of appeals.§

(8) The powers and functions of the Deputy Director of Prosecution shall be to examine and scrutinise police report and monitor the cases in which offences are punishable for seven years or more, but less than ten years, for ensuring their expeditious disposal.§

(9) The functions of the Assistant Director of Prosecution shall be to monitor cases in which offences are punishable for less than seven years.§

(10) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (7), (8) and (9), the Director, Deputy Director or Assistant Director of Prosecution shall have the power to deal with and be responsible for all proceedings under this Sanhita.§

(11) The other powers and functions of the Director of Prosecution, Deputy Directors of Prosecution and Assistant Directors of Prosecution and the areas for which each of the Deputy Directors of Prosecution or Assistant Directors of Prosecution have been appointed shall be such as the State Government may, by notification, specify.§

(12) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the Advocate General for the State while performing the functions of a Public Prosecutor.§

Why this exists

Before this provision, prosecution work in many states was loosely supervised, leading to delays, inconsistent case handling, and weak coordination between police and Public Prosecutors. This section, carried over and refined from earlier state-level Directorate of Prosecution schemes (some states like Maharashtra and Gujarat already had such directorates administratively), formalizes a supervisory hierarchy so that serious cases get priority monitoring, prosecutors are professionally accountable, and there is a clear administrative structure separate from the police, reducing risk of executive interference in individual prosecutions.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Every state must set up a Directorate of Prosecution under this section.
Fact: The word used is 'may', meaning it is optional for state governments, not mandatory.
Myth: The Directorate of Prosecution replaces or controls the police.
Fact: It only supervises and monitors Public Prosecutors and case progress; it has no authority over police investigation.
Myth: The Advocate General is also controlled by the Director of Prosecution.
Fact: Sub-section (12) expressly excludes the Advocate General from this section's operation while acting as Public Prosecutor.