Constitution of Criminal Courts in India
Constitution of Criminal Courts in India
1. The Sessions Judge– Section 9 of the CrPc talks about the establishment of the
Sessions Court. The State Government establishes the Sessions Court which has to be
presided by a Judge appointed by the High Court. The High Court appoints Additional
as well as Assistant Sessions Judges. The Court of Sessions ordinarily sits at such
place or places as ordered by the High Court. But in any particular case, if the Court of
Session is of the opinion that it will have to cater to the convenience of the parties and
witnesses, it shall preside its sittings at any other place, after the consent of the
prosecution and the accused. According to section 10 of the CrPC, the assistant
sessions judges are answerable to the sessions judge.
2. The Additional/ Assistant Sessions Judge- These are appointed by the High Court of
a particular state. They are responsible for cases relating to murders, theft, dacoity,
pick-pocketing and other such cases in case of absence of the Sessions Judge.
3. The Judicial Magistrate– In every district, which is not a metropolitan area, there
shall be as many as Judicial Magistrates of first class and of second class. The
presiding officers shall be appointed by the High Courts. Every Judicial
Magistrate shall be subordinate to the Sessions Judge.
4. Chief Judicial Magistrate- Except for the Metropolitan area, the Judicial Magistrate
of the first class shall be appointed as the Chief Judicial Magistrate. Only the Judicial
Magistrate of First Class may be designated as Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.
5. Metropolitan Magistrate- They are established in Metropolitan areas. The High
Courts have the power to appoint the presiding officers. The Metropolitan
Magistrate shall be appointed as the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. The Metropolitan
Magistrate shall work under the instructions of the Sessions Judge.
6. Executive Magistrate- According to section 20 in every district and in every
metropolitan area, an Executive Magistrate shall be appointed by the State
Government and one of them becomes District Magistrate.
The Supreme Court is the ultimate court, at the top of the Judicial system. It has the supreme
judicial authority in our country.
Original Jurisdiction – In some issues, the case can be directly filed in the High Courts.
This is known as the original jurisdiction of the High Court. E.g., In matters related to
fundamental rights, Marriage and Divorce cases.
Appellate Jurisdiction- The High Court is the Appellate Court for the cases coming up
from the trial court.
Supervisory Jurisdiction- This refers to the power of general superintendence of the
High Court over the matters of all the subordinate courts.
The powers of the various courts have been highlighted in the Constitution of India. Apart from
these courts, the power and functions of the subordinate criminal courts have been provided
under the Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as mentioned under section 6.
Court of Session
First Class Judicial Magistrate and, a metropolitan magistrate in any metropolitan area
Second Class Judicial Magistrate
Executive Magistrates
The power of the various subordinate courts is mentioned from section 26-35, under the Code of
Criminal Procedure, which has been described below.
Section 26 mentions the list of Courts which are eligible to try offences – According to Section
26, any offence mentioned under the Indian Penal Code may be tried by:
The State Government establishes the Sessions Court which has to be presided by a Judge
appointed by the High Court. The High Court appoints Additional as well as Assistant Sessions
Judges. The Court of Sessions ordinarily sits at such place or places as ordered by the High
Court.
The jurisdiction in case of Juveniles (Section 27)– Any person who is below the age of sixteen
years, who is a juvenile is exempted from the death penalty and punishment for imprisonment for
life. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, or any other Court specially empowered under the Children
Act, 1960 (60 of 1960) or any other law for the time being in force which provides for the
treatment, training and rehabilitation of youthful offenders, are eligible for trying such cases.
Miscellaneous Powers
Mode of Conferring Powers – Section 32 states that the High Court or the State
Governments have the power by virtue of an order to empower people by their titles.
Withdrawal of Powers- According to Section 33, the High Court or the State
Government, have the power to withdraw the powers conferred by them under this
code.
Powers of Judges and Magistrate exercisable by their successors-in-
office- According to Section 35, subject to the other provisions of this Code, the
powers and duties of a Judge or Magistrate may be exercised or performed by their
successors-in-chief.
Sentences which can be passed by the various courts
The first class Magistrate is eligible to pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term of
not more than three years, or fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees or both.
The Second Class Magistrate may pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not more
than one year, or fine or both. The fine imposed cannot exceed five thousand rupees.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate has the powers of that of a Chief Judicial
Magistrate as well as that of a Metropolitan Magistrate, in addition to the powers of the
First Class Magistrate.
3. The sentence for default of fine (Section 30)– According to this section, the Magistrate has
the power to pass imprisonment for default of payment of fine as specified by law. But the
following conditions need to be satisfied.
The term should not go beyond the ambit of the powers of the Magistrate (under section
29).
The term should not exceed one-fourth of the term of imprisonment which the
Magistrate is competent to award only if imprisonment awarded, is a part of the
substantive sentence as punishment for the offence.
The imprisonment sentenced under this section may be in addition to a substantive
sentence of imprisonment for the maximum term awardable by the Magistrate
under section 29.
The sentence in cases of conviction of several offences at one trial (Section
31)– According to this section, when a person is convicted for two or more offences, at
one
trial, the Court may sentence him for such offence in one trial, subject to the provisions
of section 71.
The court also has the power to award several punishments. Such sentences of
imprisonment may commence after the expiration of other punishments. Unless courts
direct such punishments run simultaneously with each other. In the case of succeeding
sentences, it is not necessary for the Court to send the offender before High court. If
the aggregate punishment for several offences exceeds the power of the court to inflict
the punishment for a single offence. Provided that.
The imprisonment should not exceed a term of fourteen years.
the aggregate punishment also shall not exceed twice the amount of punishment which
the Court is competent to inflict for a single offence.
For appeal, the aggregate punishment passed against him under this section is normally assumed
as a single sentence.
introduction –
As per the Blacks Law Dictionary, the word Arrest means “To deprive a person of
his liberty by legal authority”
,The word arrest has not been defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure or in any
other major substantive laws, The word arrest which is generally used, means to
deprive a person of his or her personal liberty. In a legal sense, the word arrest
means taking a person in custody by the authority of law, for the purpose of
holding him to answer a criminal charge or preventing the commission of the act,
punishable by law.
In the Landmark judgment of R.R. Chari v. State of Uttar Pradesh the honourable
apex court defined the term arrest as “the act of being taken into custody to be
formally charged with a crime”.
Why Are Arrest Made?
It is one of the essential features of a free and fair trial that, trial proceeding takes place in the
presence of the accused and after the trial, if the accused is found guilty, he should be present to
receive the punishment, his presence could not be ensured by any other way other than arrest and
detention.
There are several objectives behind the arrest, which are tried to be satisfied by making an arrest,
as –
1. To secure the presence and attendance of the accused during the trial.
2. To obtain the correct name, address and details of the accused.
3. The arrest is also made as a preventive measure.
4. To retake a person in lawful custody who has or who has tried, to escape.
5. To remove obstructions and hindrances in an investigation by police.
6. To secure a free and fair trial and eradicate chances of evidence tampering.
This particular provision in the law is to assist the forces responsible for
maintaining law and order and help the law, along with ensuring immediate safety
of people and security of property
Arrest By Magistrate -
Any magistrate either it’s Executive or Judicial magistrate, may arrest or can order
any other person to make arrest if
This provision of Criminal law gives special power to magistrates and it is highly
desirable in the hands of magistrates.
There is an exception to the general rule of arrest, that is Sec – 42 of Code of
Criminal procedure Code, as per sec – 42 of C.r.P.c, if a non-cognizable offence is
being committed in presence of a police officer and their person committing the act
or omission refuses to give his personal details as name and address, the police
officer could arrest the person without warrant, with a view to ascertain his name
and address.
Rights of Person Arrested.
There are several rights of a person who is arrested and that lays an obligation on the other party
with whom they have to exercise their right.
Right to be informed:
As Per Section 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Article 22 of the Indian Constitution
which provides certain rights to detained persons, the right to be informed about the grounds for
arrest is a basic right. It is the police officer's responsibility to notify and tell the arrested person
whether the offense is bailable or not.
Essentials of a warrant:
In non-cognizable offenses, an arrest is made with a warrant, and the arrested person has the
right to read the warrant under Section 75 of the CrPC. A warrant of arrest must satisfy specific
conditions, including being in writing, signed by the presiding officer, and bearing the seal of the
court, as well as the accused's name and address and the offense for which the arrest is made. If
any of these are absent, the warrant is invalid and illegal.
Memo of Arrest:
The police officer must wear a distinct and legible identification allowing for simple recognition.
At the moment of arrest, a memo of arrest must be written, which must be certified by at least
one witness, who might be a family member or a member of the local area where the arrest is
made and countersigned by the detained individual.