This is the one myth about their profession that most PPs would like people, and most importantly, the state authorities to know the truth about.

The Gawlis and Kokanis are only part of what the PPs have to keep juggling with in a day full of studies of chargesheets, the lookout for legally admissible evidence, coordination with Investigation Officers, explanation of reasons for the prosecution witnesses' absence and, of late rather frequently, just digestion of frustration when witnesses turn hostile in an otherwise sound and strong case.

One would therefore expect thePPs to be rewarded with a handsome amount. But surprisingly, the PPs' first and chief complaint is that they are not paid for their work, neither well and nor in time. The around 30 to 40 PPs in Sessions Court, who are given the job of presenting and fighting several important criminal cases for the state, have not been paid their remuneration for a period of over six months. But this isn't the first time it has happened. This, many of them say, has now become routine. The PPs generally work between 11 am and 5 pm every day. Their working hours are clocked by the clerk in charge of billing, and the PPs' wait for earnings begins.

This time, the wait has lasted for over six months, and there still seem to be no signs of the remuneration package getting any closer to the PPs' office on the ground floor of the Sessions Court building. The amount of remuneration -- Rs 1000 per working day -- itself is a point of intense dissatisfaction among PPs.

The PPs' contention is that the remuneration package does notjustify the volume and kind of work they have to put in to strengthen a case. ``This (Sessions Court) is the place where most of the work is done; because if that doesn't happen the case could become weaker in the higher courts,'' most PPs say.

The average number of pages a chargesheet of a TADA case runs into is 300 to 400. The number of pages, generally, for non-TADA cases can be anything between 10 to 200. One particular case in Sessions Court, which has been going on for two to three years now, involves the seizure of 4600-odd kg of drugs. The concerned PP has had to examine as many as 34 witness so far and the 35th is about to be examined soon. The chargesheet has run into 200 pages. The PPs are responsible for all other formalities too that are to be completed.

All on their own. The PPs in Sessions Court, unlike the Assistant Public Prosecutors in Mumbai's Metropolitan Courts, are not given an orderly who is usually a police constable. The orderly is generally expected to help PPs with little thingslike carrying their briefs and also in more important matters like checking if the prosecution's witnesses are present in court.

It is believed that the orderly is given mainly to ensure that PPs get enough space and time to concentrate on a case. But none of the PPs in Sessions Court knows the reasons behind the government's policy of not giving them an orderly.

But the real hurdles, which the PPs have to face, begin when a case actually appears in court. Many of them say they generally begin with the search of the (police) Investigation Officer (IO) concerned with the case. Despite the hard work on the part of PPs many a case, especially if it's a bail matter, gets adjourned because of the IO's failure to be present in court. A fine example is that of a case of cheating heard last week. The IO did not turn up for the case, though he knew the accused in the case had been convicted earlier in five to six cases. The PPs say sometimes IOs don't even bother to call up to explain their absence. Casesnaturally get prolonged, for no fault of PPs.

Another difficulty that arises has its roots in the HC directive to the Sessions Court to dispose of at least five cases in a month. Because of this pressure, the judges, PPs say, are reluctant to accommodate the PPs' need for more time for a given case. The PPs therefore have to present for at least two cases every day, which they say is mentally quite taxing. But the problems don't end here. The 30-odd PPs are expected to fit themselves in an approximately 12 ft x 6 ft room in Sessions Court, on two tables and five chairs. ``Where's the space to study cases between court hearings, where do we hold conferences with the IOs?'' they have been asking, but they haven't got an answer for years. Therefore, PPs who have a private office hold conferences with IOs there, and those who don't, have to hold their conferences at home on holidays.

Several PPs also complain about the lack of communication between them and police officers which, PPs say, directly causes thenumber of acquittals to shoot up. Many times, they say, police officers are not aware of the requirements of a case, which could weaken it considerably.

But the biggest hurdle is the PPs claim in unison that the prosecution's key witnesses turn hostile mostly for want of assurance of proper protection to them and their families from the state. ``No matter how much work we put in for a case, all of it gets nullified once witnesses turn hostile. It is extremely frustrating to see dreaded gangsters go scot-free for want of proof,'' the common lament goes.

(Anagha Sawant is a reporter with The Indian Express. She covers the Sessions Court)