Published on : 27 Sep 2025, 5:39 am 2 min read

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has asked the Union government to respond to a petition challenging the constitutional validity of section 20(8) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which empowers prosecution officials to review police chargesheets [Keyur Akkiraju vs. Union of India & Ors.]

A bench of Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Raghunandan Rao issued notice on the plea on Friday.

The plea questions Section 20(8) of the BNSS, which authorises Deputy Directors of Prosecution to “examine and scrutinize” police reports in cases where the prescribed punishment ranges between seven and ten years.

It contends that this mandate blurs the well-established separation between investigation and prosecution.

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