A Project Report on

CONSTITUTION OF CRIMINAL COURTS

AND OFFICES

AT
SCHOOL OF LAW
MANIPAL UNIVERSITY
JAIPUR

Submitted By: Supervised By:

Name of Student – Tanay Khandelwal Dr. Sonu Agarwal
Semester- VI Associate Professor
Section- B School of Law
Registration No.-161401106

1
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I hereby acknowledge the help and support of the teachers, who helped me in compiling this
project. I thank the faculty and management of Manipal University Jaipur, School of Law, as
the resources that were necessary to complete the project were provided by them.
I am highly indebted to my teacher “Dr. Sonu Agarwal” for her guidance and constant
supervision as well as for providing necessary knowledge regarding the subject at hand and
also for her support in completing the project.
I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and friends for their kind
cooperation and encouragement which help me in completion of this project.

_______________
TANAY KHANDELWAL

2
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Tanay khandelwal, student of B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) Semester VI,
School of Law Manipal University, Jaipur has completed his Code of Criminal Procdure-II
project work entitled “Constitution of Criminal Courts and Offices” under my supervision
and guidance.
It is further certified that the candidate has made sincere efforts for the completion of this
project.

DATE: 16/02/2019
_______________

DR. SONU AGARWAL

3
Contents
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 5
STRUCTURE, HIERARCHY OF CRIMINAL COURTS IN INDIA ................................................... 5
THE COURT OF SESSION ................................................................................................................... 6
COURTS OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATES ........................................................................................... 7
CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................. 10
WEBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................... 10

4
 INTRODUCTION
Administration of justice is the most important function of the state. For this purpose our
constitution has set up a Hierarchy of courts. The Supreme Court is the apex body, followed
by 25 High Courts which have been created by the Constitution of India, and their
jurisdiction and powers are well defined in the constitution itself. The primary duty of the
Supreme Court is to ascertain whether the laws are executed and obeyed properly and to see
to it that no person is deprived of justice in any court of law. With this purpose in view, the
Supreme Court occupies the highest place in our unitary judicial system. Attempt has been
made, as far as possible, to ensure its independence and achieve the goal of ensuring justice.
The Supreme Court has been equipped with enormous powers. By virtue of its place at the
apex of the judicial pyramid, the Supreme Court acts as a great unifying force. We have seen
that its decisions and verdicts are binding on any court in India. As a result, there is a good
possibility of integration, consistency and cohesion in the entire judicial system of the
country.

Article 124 of Indian constitution says that there shall be a Supreme Court of India its
constitution powers and jurisdictions have been defined from Article 124-147. The Supreme
Court is meant to be the highest court of appeal which takes up appeals against the verdict of
High Courts. There are 25 High Courts in the country which regulates the working of the
Sessions court. The Constitution, by Article 227, provides that every High Court shall so
exercise superintendence over all courts and tribunals.

The Criminal Procedure Code further provides that every High Court can exercise
superintendence over the courts of Judicial Magistrate subordinate to it as to ensure an
expeditious and proper disposal of such case by such magistrates.

STRUCTURE, HIERARCHY OF CRIMINAL COURTS IN INDIA

Section 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr. P.C.) –

Besides the High Courts and the Courts constituted under any law, other than this Code, there
shall be, in every State, the following classes of Criminal Courts, namely :-

1. Courts of Session;

2. Judicial Magistrates of the first class and, in any metropolitan area, Metropolitan
Magistrates;

5
3. Judicial Magistrates of the second class; and

4. Executive Magistrates.

It may be noted that the classes of Criminal Courts mentioned in this section are besides the
High Courts and the Courts constituted under any law, other than this Code. Thus, the
Criminal Courts are:

1. High Courts

2. Courts constituted under any Law other than this Code

3. Courts of Session

4. Judicial Magistrates of the First Class

5. Metropolitan Magistrates in any metropolitan area

6. Judicial Magistrates of the Second Class

7. Executive Magistrates

The highest court in each district is the District and Sessions Court. When it exercises its
jurisdiction on Code of Civil Procedures it is called District Civil Court. The District court
is also a court of Sessions when it exercises its jurisdiction on criminal matters under Code
of Criminal Procedure.

THE COURT OF SESSION

Section 9 of The Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the Court of Sessions and states
that:

1) The State Government shall establish a Court of Session for every sessions division.

2) Every Court of Session shall be presided over by a Judge, to be appointed by the

High Court.

3) The High Court may also appoint Additional Sessions Judges and Assistant Sessions
Judges to exercise jurisdiction in a Court of Session.

There is a Court of Session in each District which is presided over by a Sessions Judge and
one or more Additional Sessions Judges. In certain cases, Assistant Sessions Judges are also
appointed to work in the Sessions Court. The Sessions Judge or the Additional Sessions

6
Judge is empowered to pass any sentence authorised by law but any sentence of death
awarded by him must be confirmed by the High Court to which he is subordinate.

The Sessions Court exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction. The appointments of
the Sessions Judges, Additional Sessions Judges and Assistant Sessions Judges are made by
the High Court of the concerning State with a view to maintaining the independence of the
judiciary.

COURTS OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATES

Section 11 The Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the Court of Sessions and states
that:

1) 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.

2) The presiding officers of such Courts shall be appointed by the High Court.

 JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE FIRST CLASS: These Courts are on the second lowest
level of the Criminal Court structure in India. These Courts may be established by the
State Government in consultation with the High Court of the respective State, at such
places in the district and in any number by issuing a notification. As per section 29 of
CrPC these Courts may pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three
years, or a fine not exceeding five thousand rupees, or both.

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-
 Sentence of death
 Imprisonment of life.
 Imprisonment for a term exceeding seven years.

7
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 MAGISTRATE (SECTION 16 CR. P.C.):

1) In every metropolitan area, there shall be established as many Courts of Metropolitan
Magistrates, and at such places, as the State Government may, after consultation with
the High Courts, by notification, specify.
2) The presiding officers of such Courts shall be appointed by the High Court.
3) The jurisdiction and powers of every Metropolitan Magistrate shall extend throughout
the metropolitan area.

These Courts are on the second lowest level of the Criminal Court structure in India.
A Metropolitan Magistrate who is the first class Magistrate is under the control of sessions
Judge and is subordinate to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. 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 population 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

As per section 28 of CrPC a Metropolitan Magistrate may pass a sentence of imprisonment

for a term not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding five thousand rupees.

 JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE OF THE SECOND CLASS (SECTION 19 CR. P.C.):

These Courts may be established by the State Government in consultation with the High
Court of the respective State, at such places in the district and in any number by issuing
a notification. 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.

As per section 29 (3) of CrPC, these Courts shall reward imprisonment for a term not
exceeding one year, or fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or both.

8
  EXECUTIVE MAGISTRATE (SECTION 20 CrPC)

(i) 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.

(ii) The State Government may appoint any Executive Magistrate to be an Additional District
Magistrate and such Magistrate shall have such of the 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.

(iii) Whenever, in consequence of the office of District Magistrate becoming vacant, any
officer succeeds temporarily to the executive administration of the district, such officer shall,
pending the orders of State Government, exercise all the powers and perform all the duties
respectively conferred and imposed by this code on the District Magistrate.

(iv) The state Government may place an executive magistrate in charge of a sub-division and
may relieve him of the charge as occasion requires.

The State Government can appoint as many persons as it thinks fit to be Executive Magistrate
and one of them to be the District Magistrate in every district and in every metropolitan area.
The State Government can also appoint any Executive Magistrates to be an Additional
District Magistrate who have powers of a District Magistrate.

CONCLUSION
It is of utmost importance that, an advocate should have knowledge about the hierarchy of
criminal courts in India as well as the jurisdiction. It is the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,
which defines the territorial jurisdiction and also general jurisdiction.

Section 6 of Cr.P.C. envisaged that there shall be the following classes of criminal Courts,
viz., Courts of Session; Judicial Magistrates of the first class, Judicial Magistrates of the
second class, and the Executive Magistrates. In the Metropolitan area, the hierarchy is
Metropolitan Sessions Judge, and Metropolitan Magistrates. This is apart from the High
Courts and the Supreme Court. Section 9, Cr.P.C. further contemplates that the High Court
may constitute as many Assistant Sessions Courts as are necessary (depending upon the
workload).

9
The jurisdiction and powers including those in respect of criminal matters of the Supreme
Court and High Courts are well defined in the Constitution itself. Under Article 227 of the
Indian Constitution, every High Court has superintendence over all courts and tribunals
throughout the territories in relation to which it exercises jurisdiction. The Criminal
Procedure Code further provides that every High Court can exercise superintendence over the
courts of Judicial Magistrate subordinate to it as to ensure an expeditious and proper disposal
of such case by such magistrate.

The Constitution of India has offered an exclusive legal power to the Supreme Court of India
and this is one of the reasons why it can take care of enforcing the fundamental rights to the
Indian citizens. The Supreme Court has a chief justice, who works with a team of twenty five
other judges, all of whom are selected by the President of India.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
2. R.V. Kelkar; Criminal Procedure; Eastern Book Company; 5th Edition 2011
3. Ratanlal and Dhirajlal; The Code of Criminal Procedure; Lexis Nexis; 20th Edition
2015

WEBLIOGRAPHY
1. https://advocateguru.com/constitution-and-powers-of-criminal-courts-and-offices/

2. http://www.importantindia.com/12418/powers-and-functions-of-high-court-in-india/
3. https://www.academia.edu/6378905/Constitution_of_Criminal_Courts_and_Jurisdicti
on
4. http://legalseccdose.blogspot.in/2015/01/hierarchy-of-criminal-courts-in-india.html
5. http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/jurisdiction.htm

10