Saddled with the maximum workload of the office, this Division has the maximum number of lawyers. The assignment of a major chunk of legal work force to it is designed to address the OAG’s concern for freedom of those involved in a case from unjustifiable interference. Hence, the “utmost diligence” is the rule this division plays by. Accordingly, when a prima facie case is found to exist, the case is then put through “Evidential Test” and “Public Interest Test”.

Evidential Test requires not just an evidence of an offence but evidence sufficient to convict the accused. In other words, the evidence must be such that any reasonable judge would, without compunctions, hold the accused guilty.

On the other hand, Public Interest Test requires that even if there are evidence sufficient to convict the accused, the prosecution of which would have adverse implication on the public, for instance by disturbance of the order or undermining the security, the prosecution would not be launched. It thus follows that OAG does not initiate prosecution until and unless it is found imperative in public interest and is convinced that it has all the evidence to convict the accused.

To guide the decision on prosecution and the processes thereafter, OAG has codified for itself the Prosecution Guidelines. Although initiated as an in-house initiative, it is a landmark achievement for OAG in its efforts to ensure fairness and justice.