The provision authorises the Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor, with the court's consent, to withdraw from prosecuting any accused before judgment is pronounced. A recurring misconception is that once a government decides to withdraw criminal cases, the Public Prosecutor is bound to implement that decision. Judicial Consent Is Not An Empty FormalityEven an independently formed opinion of the Public Prosecutor is insufficient by itself. Concluding remarksThe controversy surrounding the demand to "withdraw FIRs" is therefore as much about legal terminology as about legal power. Each of these mechanisms, however, carries statutory safeguards and involves independent decision-making by the investigating agency, the Public Prosecutor and the judiciary.