STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF CRIMINAL COURTS IN INDIA

Administration of criminal justice is carried out through Magistrate Courts and Sessions Courts.
The hierarchy of criminal courts is given below.
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), together with other penal laws' constitutes India's substantive
criminal law. The IPC draws inspiration from the English criminal law and has stood the test of
time. However, it cannot be self-operative. As a sequel to the IPC, a Code of Criminal Procedure,
1861 was enacted. The 1861 Code was repealed after which a new Code of Criminal Procedure,
1974 (CrPC) was enacted to carry out the process of the administration and enforcement of the
substantive criminal law. The CrPC also controls and regulates the working of the machinery set up
for the investigation and trial of the offences. In addition to the CrPC, the Indian Evidence Act of
1872 was enacted to guide the process of investigation and trial.

Categories of Criminal Courts in India

Courts of Session
As per Section 9 of CrPC, the court is established by the state government for every sessions
division. The court is presided over by a Judge, appointed by the High Court of that particular
State. The High Court may also appoint Additional Sessions Judges and Assistant Sessions Judges
in this court. It has the power to impose any sentence including capital punishment.

Courts of Judicial Magistrates

Section 11 of CrPC states that in every district (not being a metropolitan area), there shall be
established as many Courts of Judicial Magistrates of the first class and of the second class and at
such places, as the state government may after consultation with the High Court, by notification
specify. Courts of Judicial Magistrate of First Class are at the second lowest level of the Criminal
Court structure in India. According to Section 15 of the CrPC, a Judicial Magistrate is under the
general control of the Sessions Judge and is subordinate to the Chief Judicial Magistrate. In terms
of Section 29 of the CrPC, a Judicial Magistrate of First Class may pass a sentence of
imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or of fine not exceeding five thousand rupees or
of both.

Chief Judicial Magistrate and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, etc.

In every district (not being a metropolitan area), the High Court shall appoint a Judicial Magistrate
of the First Class to be the Chief Judicial Magistrate. A Chief Judicial Magistrate may impose a
sentence except (a) sentence of death, (b) imprisonment of life, or (c) imprisonment for a term
exceeding seven years. A Chief Judicial Magistrate shall be subordinate to the Sessions Judge; and
every other Judicial Magistrate shall, subject to the general control of the Sessions Judge, be
subordinate to the Chief Judicial Magistrate.

Metropolitan Magistrates
The Courts of Metropolitan Magistrates were created by Section 16 of the Criminal Procedure
Code. The Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and those of The Additional Chief Metropolitan
Magistrates were created by Section 17 of the Code. Section 18 of the Code also provided for
Special Metropolitan Magistrates. The towns having populations exceeding one million could be
declared as Metropolitan Areas. A Metropolitan magistrate is under the general control of the
Sessions Judge and is subordinate to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

Executive Magistrates
In every district and in every metropolitan area, the state government may appoint as many persons
as it thinks fit to be Executive Magistrates and shall appoint one of them to be the District
Magistrate.
The state government may appoint any Executive Magistrate to be an Additional District
Magistrate and such Magistrate shall have such powers of a District Magistrate under this Code or
under any other law for the time being in force as may be directed by the state government.

Special Executive Magistrates

Under Section 21 of the CrPC, the state government may appoint, Executive Magistrates, to be
known as Special Executive Magistrates, for particular areas or for the performance of particular
functions and confer on such Special Executive Magistrates such of the powers as are conferrable
under this Code on Executive Magistrates, as it may deem fit.

The Court at the lowest level is called Judicial Magistrate of the Second Class. This Court is
competent to try the case if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding
one year, or with fine not exceeding five thousand rupees, or with both.

The First Class Magistrate is competent to try offences punishable with imprisonment for a term
not exceeding three years or with fine up to ten thousand rupees. In states such as Kerala, the
Second and the First Class Magistrate Courts have been unified.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate can impose any fine and impose punishment up to seven years of
imprisonment. The Assistant Sessions Judge is competent to impose punishments up to ten years
imprisonment and impose any fine. The Sessions Judge can impose any punishment authorised by
law, but the sentence of death passed by him should be subject to the confirmation by the High
Court. (See for details Sections 28 and 29 of CrPC).

(A) The criminal process-investigation and prosecution

Criminal prosecution generally has two streams in India. The first relates to criminal cases which
are initiated on the basis of police reports or FIRs lodged with the police, whereas the second
stream relates to cases that are initiated on the basis of private complaints.
In respect of the first stream, prosecution is conducted by the Director of Public Prosecution
through public prosecutors. Specifically Section 225 of the CrPC provides that every trial before a
Sessions Court shall be conducted by a public prosecutor.
In addition to this private parties can also conduct the cases through their own lawyers in respect of
private complaints. Private complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is
one such example.
The CrPC elaborates the procedure to be followed in every investigation, inquiry and trial, for
every offence under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law. It divides the procedure to be
followed for administration of criminal justice into three stages: namely investigation, inquiry and
trial.
In brief, the objective of investigation is to collect evidence for the purpose of any inquiry or trial.
Investigation is a preliminary stage enquiry conducted by the Police and usually starts after the
recording of a First Information Report (FIR) in the Police Station (Section 154-155 of the Code).
If the officer-in-charge of a police station suspects the commission of an offence from statement of
FIR or when the magistrate directs or otherwise, the officer or any subordinate officer is duty-
bound to proceed to the spot to investigate the facts and circumstances of the case and if necessary,
take measures for the discovery and arrest of the offender.

Investigation primarily consists of ascertaining facts and circumstances of the case. It includes:
(i) The collection of evidence;
(ii) Inspection of the place of occurrence of the commission of the crime;
(iii) Ascertainment of facts and circumstances;
(iv) Discovery of any article or object used for the commission of the crime;
(v) Arrest of the suspected offender;
(vi) Interrogation and examination of various persons including the accused and taking of their
statements in writing;
(vii) Search of places or seizure of things considered necessary for the investigation and considered
to be material at the time of the trial, etc.

Investigation ends in a police report to the Magistrate. Once the investigation is completed, the
matter will be brought before the Magistrate or the concerned court.

Inquiry is the second stage of the process wherein a Magistrate seeks to find out whether the
accused should be committed to the Sessions or discharged. According to Section 2 (g) of the
CrPC, "inquiry" means every inquiry, other than a trial, conducted under this Code by a Magistrate
or Court. In other words, inquiry refers to proceedings before a Magistrate prior to the framing of
the charge which does not result in conviction of the accused.

Trial is judicial determination of a person's guilt or innocence. Trial is a proceeding which involves
examination and determination of the cause by a judicial tribunal, and which ends in conviction or
acquittal of the accused. In India, the system of criminal trial envisaged by the CrPC is the
adversary system based on the accusatorial method. In this system the prosecutor representing the
state (or the people) accuses the defendant (the accused person) of the commission of some crime;
the law requires him to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt. The accused person is presumed to
be innocent unless his guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt (presumption of innocence).
Presumption of innocence is one of the cardinal principles of the Indian criminal justice system.

Steps in Criminal Proceeding

Investigation, Inquiry, Trial
The three terms denote three different stages of a criminal case. The first stage is reached when a
Police officer either by himself or under order of a Magistrate investigates a case. If the Police
officer finds that no offence has been committed, the officer reports the fact to the Magistrate who
drops the proceedings. If the Magistrate is of a contrary opinion, the matter will be taken up for
further inquiry. Then begins the second stage, which is an inquiry into the case by the Magistrate. If
no prima facie case is made out, the Magistrate dismisses the complaint or discharges the accused.
If a prima facie case is made out, the Magistrate frames the charges. The third and final stage is
reached when the charge is framed and the trial begins. The Magistrate may conduct the trial and
may either convict the accused, or acquit him/her. In cases of serious offences such as murder or
dacoity the trial takes place before the Sessions Court.

(B) Warrant, Summons and Summary Trials

Under the CrPC, criminal trials have been categorised into two types:
Warrant case
Summons case
A warrant case relates to offences punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for
a term exceeding two years. The CrPC provides for two types of procedure for the trial of warrant
cases by a Magistrate, triable by a Magistrate, viz., those instituted upon a Police report (Section
238-243) and those instituted otherwise than on Police report i.e., upon complaints (Section 238-
243).
In respect of cases instituted on a Police report, it provides for the Magistrate to discharge the
accused upon consideration of the Police report and attached documents, if there is no legal basis
for the case. In respect of the cases instituted otherwise than on a Police report, the Magistrate
hears the prosecution and takes the evidence. If there is no case, the accused is discharged. If the
accused is not discharged, the Magistrate holds a regular trial after framing the charge, etc. In
respect of offences punishable with death, life imprisonment or imprisonment for a term exceeding
seven years, the trial is conducted in a Sessions Court after being committed or forwarded to the
court by a Magistrate.

Section 2(x)of the CrPC defines "warrant-case" as a case relating to an offence punishable with
death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term exceeding two years.
A summons case means a case relating to an offence not being a warrant case, implying all cases
relating to offences punishable with imprisonment not exceeding two years. In respect of summons
cases, there is no need to frame a charge. The court gives the substance of the accusation, which is
called "notice" to the accused when the person appears in pursuance of the summons. The court has
the power to convert a summons case into a warrant case, if the Magistrate thinks that it is in the
interest of justice.
The High Court may empower Magistrates of First Class to try certain offences in a summary way.
Second Class Magistrates can summarily try an offence only if punishable with a fine or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months. In a summary trial, no sentence of
imprisonment for a term exceeding three months can be passed in any conviction. The particulars of
the summary trial are entered in the record of the court. In every case tried summarily in which the
accused does not plead guilty, the Magistrate records the substance of the evidence and a
judgement containing a brief statement of the reasons for the finding.

A criminal trial will have the following distinct stages:

(i) Framing of charge or issuance of notice
Framing the charges and issuing notice indicates the beginning of a trial. At this stage, the judge is
required to sift and weigh the evidence for the purpose of finding out whether or not a prima facie
case against the accused has been made out or not. If the materials placed before the court discloses
the commission of an offence, the court frames the charge and proceeds with the trial. On the other
hand, if the judge considers that there is no sufficient ground for proceeding, the judge discharges
the accused and records the reasons for doing so. Again, the charge shall be read out and explained
to the accused and the accused shall be asked whether he/she pleads guilty of the offence charged
with or claims to be tried.
(ii) Recording of prosecution evidence
After the charge is framed, the prosecution is asked to examine its witnesses before the court. The
statement of witnesses is taken under an oath. This is called examination-in-chief. The accused has
a right to cross-examine all the witnesses presented by the prosecution. Section 309 of the CrPC
provides that the proceeding shall be held as expeditiously as possible and in particular, when the
examination of witnesses has once begun, the same shall be continued day-to-day until all the
witnesses in attendance have been examined.
(iii) Statement of accused
The court has powers to examine the accused at any stage of inquiry or trial for the purpose of
eliciting any explanation against incriminating circumstances appearing before it. However, it is
mandatory for the court to question the accused after examining the evidence of the prosecution if
it incriminates the accused. This examination is without oath and before the accused enters a
defence. The purpose of this examination is to give the accused a reasonable opportunity to explain
the incriminating facts and circumstances in the case.
(iv) Defence evidence
If after taking the evidence for the prosecution, examining the accused and hearing the prosecution
and defence, the judge considers that there is no evidence that the accused has committed the
offence, the judge is required to record the order of acquittal. However, when the accused is not
acquitted for absence of evidence, a defence must be entered and evidence adduced in its support.
The accused may produce witnesses who may be willing to depose in support of the defence. The
accused is also a competent witness under the law.
The accused may apply for the issue of process for compelling attendance of any witness or the
production of any document or thing. The witnesses produced by him are cross-examined by the
prosecution. The accused person is entitled to present evidence in case he/she so desires after
recording of the statement. The witnesses produced by the accused can be cross-examined by the
prosecution. Most accused persons do not lead defence evidence. One of the major reasons for this
is that India follows the common law system where the burden of proof is on the prosecution and
the degree of proof required in a criminal trial is beyond reasonable doubt.
(v) Final arguments
This is the final stage of the trial. The provisions of the CrPC provide that when examination of the
witnesses for the defence, if any, is complete, the prosecutor shall sum up the prosecution case and
the accused is entitled to reply.
(vi) Judgement
After the conclusion of arguments by the prosecutor and defence, the judge pronounces his
judgement in the trial. If after hearing the prosecution and the defence, the judge considers that
there is no evidence to indicate that the accused has committed the offence with which he/ she is
charged, the judge can record an order of acquittal. If the judgement is one of conviction and the
judge does not proceed to invoke the benevolent provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act,
1958 and the judge shall hear the accused on the question of the appropriate sentence.
Under the CrPC an accused can also be withdrawn from prosecution at any stage of trial with the
permission of the court. If the accused is allowed to be withdrawn from prosecution prior to
framing of charge, it will be considered as a discharge, whereas if such withdrawal is allowed after
framing of charge, it will be treated as an acquittal.

(C) Bailable and non-bailable Offences

There is no definition of the term "bail" under the CrPC although the terms "bailable" and "non-
bailable" have been defined. The objection of detention of an accused is primarily to secure his/her
physical appearance at the time of trial and at the time of sentence if found guilty. However, the
grant of bail has been a matter of judicial discretion. The Supreme Court of India held that bail
covers both release on one's own bond, with or without sureties.
CrPC has classified all offences into 'bailable' and 'non-bailable' offences. Read with Section 2(a)
of the CrPC, it can be generally stated that all serious offences, i.e., offences punishable with
imprisonment for three years or more have been considered as non bailable offences. This general
rule can be suitably modified according to specific needs.
If a person accused of a bailable offence is arrested or detained without warrant he/she has a right
to be released on bail (Section 436 of Cr P.C). But if the offence is non-bailable that does not mean
that the person accused of such offence shall not be released on bail. In such a case bail is not a
matter of right, but only a privilege to be granted at the discretion of the court.
The power to cancel bail has been given to the court and not to a police officer. The court which
granted the bail can alone cancel it.

(D) Anticipatory Bail

Section 438 of the CrPC enables the superior courts to grant anticipatory bail. An anticipatory bail
can be applied for when the person has reason to believe that he/ she may be arrested. An
application for anticipatory bail can be made to the Sessions Court, the High Court or even the
Supreme Court. However, normally it is to be presumed that the Court of Sessions would be first
approached for grant of anticipatory bail. The court may consider the following aspects when
considering an application for anticipatory bail: (i) the nature and gravity of accusation; (ii) the
antecedents of the applicant; (iii) the possibility that the accused may flee from justice; and (iv) the
accusation appears to be aimed at humiliating the applicant.

(E) Cognizable and non-cognizable Offences

The CrPC has not given any test or criterion to determine cognizable or non-cognizable offences.
The First Schedule of CrPC, however, indicates that all offences punishable with imprisonment for
not less than three years are taken as serious offences and are treated as cognizable. Offences such
as murder, robbery, dacoity, rape and kidnapping are cognizable offences. Offences relating to
marriage including bigamy and adultery are punishable with more than five years imprisonment,
yet they have been included in the category of non
cognizable offences. Other offences though serious have been considered as non cognizable only.

Age and Criminal Liability

Under IPC, criminal responsibility starts at the age of seven. However, any act by a child aged
between 7 and 12 years, which would otherwise be criminal, is free from liability if it is proved that
the child has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences
of his or her alleged conduct. The classification of offences as 'cognizable' and 'non-cognizable' is
apparently and essentially intended to indicate as to whether the arrest in respect of an offence can
be made with or without a warrant [Section 2 (c) and (1)]. The classification presupposes the need
of immediate action in respect of every cognizable offence. However, in the case of non-cognizable
offences, a warrant is required for the arrest of the accused.
Arrest and Rights of the Arrested Person
Under Section 57/167of the CrPC, the accused must be produced before a Magistrate within 24
hours of arrest. If the investigation cannot be concluded within this time, a Magistrate may order
for the remand of the arrested person to police custody u/s 167 (3) of the Cr.P.C The Magistrate
should be fully satisfied that there is good ground to remand the accused to police custody.
Under Section 50 of the CrPC, the arrested person is to be informed of the particulars of the
offence or any other grounds for arrest. Further, if arrested without a warrant for an offence which
is bailable, he/she must be informed that he/she is entitled to be released on bail.
Under Section 50A of the CrPC, the arrested person is entitled to have a person nominated by him
informed about the arrest and moreover the Magistrate is required to satisfy himself that the
provisions of this Section are complied with. The Supreme Court has also recognized the right of
the arrested person to have access to a lawyer in Nandini Satpathy [(1978) 2SCC 424] and DK
Basu [(1997) 1 SCC 410].
Under Section 51 CrPC, a person who is arrested may be searched and a list shall be prepared of
any articles found on his person. This personal search memo is especially important if there is any
allegation of recovery of incriminating material from the person of the accused.
Under Section 54 CrPC, the arrested person can request that he/she be examined by a medical
practitioner if the examination of his person will either disprove the commission of the offence by
him, or will prove the commission of any offence against his body by another person. Under
Section 53 and 53A CrPC, the police can send the arrested person for medical examination.

(F) Doctrine of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict (i.e. previously acquitted or previously
convicted)
According to this doctrine, if a person is tried and acquitted or convicted of an offence he/she
cannot be tried again for the same offence or on the same facts for any other offence. This doctrine
has been substantially incorporated in the Article 20(2) of the Constitution of India and is also
embodied in Section 300 of CrPC. This could be a preliminary plea taken as a bar to criminal trial.
Some more instances could be where the accused may raise certain preliminary pleas, viz., court
does not have the jurisdiction, or competence to try the accused person or be barred by the
limitation of time prescribed by law.
Accused and the Right against Self-incrimination
The right against self-incrimination is provided under Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India,
which stipulates that "No person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against
himself". However, the following restrictions are placed on the exercise of this right:
Only such documents/statements are protected as are within the personal knowledge of the
accused, and thus records that are maintained in fulfilment of a statutory requirement may not be
protected. Further, the accused can be required to give a handwriting sample/blood/DNA sample as
the same are not within the 'personal knowledge' of the accused.
The protection against Article 20(3) protects the accused only against being compelled to produce
documents. The Supreme Court has held that a search and seizure does not amount to 'compulsion
to produce' and is thus outside the protection of Article 20(3).
Summons under Section 91 CrPC cannot be issued to an accused person, however, a general search
warrant under Section 93(1)(c) CrPC is not protected under Article 20(3) of the Constitution of
India.

(G) Function and Role of Police

The Police Act, 1861 describes the structure and function of the police in general. The Police Force
is an instrument for the prevention and detection of crime (see Preamble, The Police Act, 1861).
The overall administration of the police in a state is vested with the Director-General of Police
(DGP). The administration of police in every district vests in the District Superintendent of Police
under the general control and direction of the District Magistrate who is usually the District
Collector. Every Police officer appointed to the police force other than Inspector-General of Police
(or Deputy or Assistant Inspector General of Police) and the District Superintendent of Police (or
Assistant District Superintendent of Police) receives a certificate in prescribed form by virtue of
which he/she is vested with the powers, functions and privileges of a police officer. On the other
hand, the Police Act, 1949 creates a police force for the Union Territories, following the pattern of
the Police Act of 1861.
165

The CrPC confers specific powers, e.g., power to make arrest, search, etc. on the members of the
police force who are enrolled as police officers. Section 23 of the Police Act, 1861 provides that 'it
shall be the duty of every Police officer … to collect and communicate intelligence affecting the
public peace; to prevent the commission of offences and public nuisance; to detect and bring
offenders to justice and to apprehend all persons whom he is legally authorised to apprehend, and
for whose apprehension sufficient grounds exist'.

(H) Criminal Investigations and First Information Report (FIR)

FIR is the abbreviated form of First Information Report. It is the information recorded by the police
officer on duty, given either by the aggrieved person or any other person about the commission of
cognizable offence. The statement of the informant as recorded under Section 154 will be treated as
the FIR. The main object of the FIR from the point of view of the informant is to set the criminal
law in motion (Hasib v. State of Bihar, AIR 1972 SC 283). The police cannot refuse to register the
complaint. The power of police to lodge an FIR cannot be usurped by the Magistrate. If any person
is aggrieved by a refusal on the part of the Police officer in charge of the police station to record the
information, he may send by post the substance of such information in writing to the
Superintendent of Police concerned [Section 154(3)].
FIR can be filed in the police station of the concerned area in whose jurisdiction the offence has
occurred. FIR can be registered either on written or verbal statement of the complainant which is
later reduced in writing by a police officer and is signed by the complainant. It must be made to the
officer-in-charge of the police station and if he is not available, the Assistant Sub-Inspector is
competent to enter the same upon the investigation. On the basis of the FIR the police started its
investigation.
Section 154 of the CrPC provides for the manner in which such information is to be recorded.
Following manner could be drawn from Section 154 (1) of the CrPC:

Some Important Facts about FIR

1. Information of cognizable offence can be given by any person to police having jurisdiction in the
area where the commission of crime took place.
2. FIR is not a substantive piece of evidence. It has to be duly proved as any other fact by evidence
and can be used as relevant fact in order to prove the substantive issue.
3. Police officers shall reduce such information in writing.
4. Informant's signature must be obtained.
5. Contents of such information should be read over to Informant and must be entered in record by
the police officer.
6. Police officers shall give a copy of such information to the informant forthwith.
7. Original FIR must be sent to the Magistrate forthwith.
8. Despite a police officer refusing to register an FIR, the aggrieved person can send such
information to the Superintendent of Police by post.
9. FIR is to be made immediately after the occurrence of an incident, when the memory of the
person giving it is fresh in his mind about the occurrence.
10. Telephonic information from an ascertained person which discloses commission of the
cognizable offence would also constitute FIR.

(I) Information to the Police as to non-cognizable offence

Section 155 of CrPC provides that if any person gives information to an officer in charge of a
police station of the commission of non-cognizable offence, the officer shall enter or cause to be
entered the substance of the information in a book prescribed for this purpose. The Police officer
has no further duty unless the Magistrate directs the Police officer to investigate the case. Generally
speaking, non-cognizable offences are more or less considered as private criminal wrongs. The
basic rule is that no police officer shall investigate a non
cognizable case without the order of a magistrate having power to try such a case or commit the
case for trial.
In a situation where a criminal case consists of both cognizable and non-cognizable offences, the
case shall be deemed to be a cognizable case, notwithstanding that the other offences are non-
cognizable.
Incidence giving rise to a criminal offence Registration of an FIR under sec 154 CrPC. Complaint
to the magistrate under sec 200 of the CrPC.
Cognizance of the offence by a magistrate under s. 190 of the CrPC. Issuance of process under s.
204 of CrPC . Supply of documents to the accused under s. 204 of the CrPC.
Charge or Notice under CrPC
Trial
Judgement
Acquittal/Conviction
Appeal against Acquittal /Conviction

V. OTHER COURTS IN INDIA

In addition to the civil and criminal courts outlined and discussed above, there are a number of
special courts and tribunals established in India to govern specific areas of law. A few such
examples include the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT), Rent Control Tribunal, Railway
Claims Tribunal, Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate
Tribunal (CESTAT), Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Intellectual Property Appellate
Tribunal (IPAT), National Green Tribunal (NGT), etc. The purpose of these special courts is to
bring efficiency in the judiciary by lowering the case burdens on the traditional courts while
providing a quick relief to the parties involved.

(A) Family Courts

The Family Courts in India deal with matters related to matrimonial relief which includes nullity of
marriage, judicial separation, divorce, restitution of conjugal rights, declaration as to the validity of
marriage and matrimonial status of the person, property of the spouses or any of them and
declaration as to the legitimacy of any person, guardianship of a person or custody of any minor,
maintenance including the proceedings under the CrPC.
The Family Courts Act, 1984 in India was enacted on 14 September, 1984 to provide for the family
courts with a view to promoting conciliation in and secure speedy settlement of disputes relating to
marriage and family affairs. The objective was to take family and marital disputes away from the
overcrowded, intimidating and congested environment of traditional courts of law and bring them
to congenial and sympathetic surroundings. The aim was 'conciliation' between the estranged
family members and not 'confrontation'. The emphasis was on a non- adversarial method of
resolving family disputes
The Act stipulates that a party is not entitled to be represented by a lawyer without the express
permission of the Court. However, invariably the court grants this permission and usually it is a
lawyer which represents the parties. The most unique aspect regarding the proceedings before the
Family Court is that they are first referred to conciliation and only when the conciliation
proceedings fail to resolve the issue successfully, will the matter be taken up for trial by the Court.
The Conciliators are professionals who are appointed by the Court. Once a final order is passed, the
aggrieved party has an option of filing an appeal before the High Court. Such appeal is to be heard
by a bench consisting of two judges.

(B) Administrative Tribunals

With a view to easing the congestion of pending cases in various High Courts and other Courts in
the country, Parliament enacted the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 which came into force in
July, 1985. Central Administrative Tribunals were established in November, 1985 at Delhi,
Mumbai, Calcutta and Allahabad. As of now, there are 17 Benches of the Tribunal located
throughout the country with 33 Division Benches. In addition, circuit sittings are held at Nagpur,
Goa, Aurangabad, Jammu, Shimla, Indore, Gwalior, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Pondicherry, Gangtok, Port
Blair, Shillong, Agartala, Kohima, Imphal, Itanagar, Aizawl and Nainital.
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has been established for adjudication of disputes with
respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in
connection with the affairs of the Union or other local authorities within the territory of India or
under the control of government of India and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Article 323 A has been added by the 42nd amendment of the Constitution of India. In addition to
Central Government employees, the government of India has notified 45 other organisations, to
bring them within the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal. The provisions of the
Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 do not, however, apply to members of paramilitary forces,
armed forces of the Union, officers or employees of the Supreme Court, or to persons appointed to
the Secretariat Staff of either House of Parliament or the Secretariat staff of State/Union Territory
Legislatures.

A Chairman who has been a sitting or retired Judge of a High Court heads the Central
Administrative Tribunal. Besides the Chairman, the authorised strength consists of 16 Vice
Chairmen and 49 Members. The conditions of service of Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and Members
are governed by the provisions of the Central Administrative Tribunal (Salaries and Allowances
and Conditions of Service of Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and Members), Rule, 1985, as amended
from time to time.
VI. EXERCISE
1. Trace the role of police and criminal courts in the administration of criminal justice.
2. Explain the three stages Investigation, Inquiry and Trial involved in the criminal justice
administration.
3. How do you distinguish between cognizable and non-cognizable offences?