A JUDGE has threatened to clear an alleged rapist without a trial because of "lamentable failures" by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Jeremy Gold QC ordered the prosecution to produce the paperwork it had repeatedly failed to disclose or he would find 20-year-old Khan Jabarkhel not guilty - without the case being put before a jury.
He tore into the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) during the hearing at Croydon Crown Court on Tuesday, describing the case as a "particularly bad example" of the "wholly shambolic" state of the service in London, which judges experience "on an almost daily basis".
The CPS said the case was "complex" and that it would comply with the judge's order to supply the documents by Friday (June 21).
Jabarkhel, of North Downs Road, Thornton Heath, is accused of rape of a woman over 16 on September 26 last year.
After being arrested and charged, he appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court for a hearing on September 28.
He was committed to crown court where he pleaded not guilty on December 19.
During Tuesday's hearing, his barrister outlined the "sorry history" of the case, which began at a hearing on January 11 when the CPS informed the court that a second man was to be charged in relation to the alleged rape.
That never happened, causing further delays. On the first day of Jabarkhel's trial, the CPS failed to disclose basic paperwork, despite repeated requests from his defence team.
The judge adjourned the proceedings and ordered the prosecution to provide the documents. When the case came up on Tuesday, prosecutor Don Rogers told Judge Gold, who had made one of the previous orders, that the casework had still not been disclosed.
He replied: "The wholly shambolic state of the CPS in this area is something that I, and other judges here, see on a daily basis. This is a particularly bad example.
"For the defence to be asking formally for basic documents to be served and simply getting no response from the CPS is a lamentable state of affairs."
Judge Gold said Jabarkhel, who is on conditional bail, had suffered "very significant restraints to his personal liberty" while the prosecution had failed to comply with "clear direction" to provide the required documentation.
"There has been a lamentable failure by the prosecution to even begin to comply with the orders the court has made for disclosure," he added.
"What effect this will have on whether or not the trial proceeds is a case for the trial judge."
With obvious frustration, he added: "I direct that all outstanding paperwork in this case be served by June 21.
"If this direction continues to be flouted I instruct the defence to list the case for mention to come in front of me again.
"I will then list it for trial the following day. If the case is not in a position to proceed I will direct a not guilty verdict in relation to this defendant.
"I can think of no other way of dealing fairly with the persistent failure of the CPS to comply with these orders.
"There has been a lamentable failure by the CPS to prepare the case for trial."
After Judge Gold had adjourned the case, Mr Rogers turned to his assistant prosecutor and said: "That was tough."
A spokesperson defended the CPS record in London, saying 86 per cent of judges orders are complied with.
"This is a very serious and complex case involving a young victim and a significant amount of work has been done with the police to build this case," she added.
"We had served all the evidence in this case but it had not all been served at the same time. The Judge has asked for a single paginated bundle which he will receive by 21 June. The issue of disclosure will also be addressed by this date, as ordered by the Judge."
