CrPC Procedure

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now

your Author

Shri Sunil Goel was born in New Delhi in the year 1971 in a traditional business family having interests in Iron & Steel, Real Estate, banquet, etc. He did his graduation in science from Kirorimal College, one of the prestigious colleges of the Delhi University. Mr.Goel took his degree in law from Delhi University and his Masters of Law from the M.D.University, Rohtak. He is enrolled as an advocate with the State Bar Council of Delhi and is member of a number of professional bodies like Delhi High Court Bar Association, Delhi Bar Association, Indian Council of Arbitration, etc.

Within a short span of time, Mr. Sunil Goel has earned accolades and recognition as a lawyer. He has been representing clients like Govt. of India, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, National Thermal Power Corporation, Essar group, etc. Mr. Sunil Goel is an Arbitrator on the panel of Registrar Co-operative Societies, Delhi and Indian Council of Arbitration. He is also Guest lecturer, Directorate of Training, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, giving lectures on law subjects to UTCS and IAS probationers. He has also delivered lectures to members of North India Regional Council of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and senior officials of Airports Authority of India. He was appointed as Amicus Curie in several matters before the National Consumer Disputes Resolution Commission. He is one of the professionals who successfully completed e-learning Certificate Course on Arbitration and Dispute Resolution conducted by United Nations Institute for Training & Research (UNITAR), Geneva, 2004. His articles on subjects concerning every man appear in papers and periodicals. Criminal law has been one of the favourite subjects of Mr. Sunil Goel. Infact, the subjects of study in his LL.M. degree were various aspects of criminal law. His articles on cheque bouncing are very popular with the masses.

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Dated : 03.01.2004

FOREWARD

I went through the manuscript of the book titled “ Courts, Police, Authorities

and Common Man” by Shri Sunil Goel with great interest and I am glad to write a

forward to the same. At first look, I thought this must be yet another work on the

subject but when I went through the book, I found that both in design and expression,

this book marks an advance on anything written so far on the subject. The subject

has been treated in depth and all aspects are adequately covered in simple language

easy of comprehension by the layman.

The author has put in considerable amount of work in the preparation of

this book. He has referred to the relevant authorities and explained them in a language

which an ordinary reader can understand. The book contains a thorough analysis of

the subject and bears testimony to the thorough grasp of the subject by the author

and the hard work and industry brought to bear in the preparation of this book.

I am sure this book will prove useful to lawyers, police officials and layman

alike. I congratulate the author in preparing this excellent work and I have great

pleasure in recommending it to all concerned with the administration of law and

order.

I wish Shri Sunil Goel all the best for the success of this book.

Justice P.N.Bhagwati

former Chief Justice of India

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January 8th, 2004

FOREWARD

This book written by Shri Sunil Goel, a practicing advocate of this Court, is worth commendation. We have many books and commentaries on the criminal law which explain the various provisions of Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Penal Code and discuss the judgments on relevant provisions delivered by the Courts. These books are meant for and are understood only by law professionals. There is hardly any book which I have come across which is meant for and is understood by common man or litigant.

I find that this book is different from other books in this regard. The very purpose of the book is to educate and inform the people – whether it is professional, litigant, police officer, businessman, foreigner or any other person – about the criminal justice system applicable and prevalent in India. This is explained in a very simple language. Usually, the common man is not aware about his rights under the criminal law and thus is not able to avail these at times of acute need. This is where the high handedness comes in, leading ultimately to corruption. The law confers not only the powers upon the Govt. officers including police, but also assign certain duties to them to avoid misuse of powers by them. But most of the people are not aware of these duties and are thus forced to bear the harassment by corrupt and inefficient officers.

This book also explains the working of the courts and attempts to answer probably all the queries which a person might want to ask but do not know whom to ask. While the overall emphasis is on criminal law, other important aspects of general law have also been dealt with. The chapter on history and working of police is really interesting. Various aspects relating to bail have been explained in very simple language. The rights of the arrested person are beautifully dealt with. One must go thoroughly through the chapter “ Frequently Asked

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Questions” and “ Other Information” to get answers to most of their queries concerning the use of criminal law in day to day life. The addresses and telephone numbers and websites of important bodies given in the Appendix would be very handy to the people in emergent situations. The young entrants to the profession of law would find the sample proformas of various petitions to be very useful.

I am really impressed by the treasure of information which the author has attempted to provide in this book. This is really a noble and laudable effort. This is really an informative handbook. Such useful and interesting information has been provided in this book which is normally not known even to advocates, and in some cases, even to judges. People want to know about these things but do not know the source. Most of the information given in this book is normally not available in any easily available book. Take an illustration : we all know that death sentence in India is executed by hanging the convict by neck till he is dead. But we do not know why death sentence is executed in this manner, why not in any other manner, from where this procedure is derived, what is the legal authority for such procedure. The answers to these questions are available in Section 354 of Cr.P.C. which cast an obligation upon the court that “ when any person is sentenced to death, the sentence shall direct that he be hanged by neck till he is dead”. Chapter 9 gives very useful information about the various subjects of common utility and the various Acts which deal with these subjects. The new entrants in the field of advocacy will particularly find this book very useful.

Mr. Goel has really taken the pains to explain the complicated aspects of criminal law in a very simple way. I am sure that the litigants, the common man and the legal fraternity of India and abroad will find this book to be very useful. I congratulate Shri Goel for having written such an informative, educative and useful book.

I wish Shri Sunil Goel and this book all the success.

Ramphal Bansal, Sr.Advocate & Vice President, D.A.V.Managing Committee

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1st January, 2004

FOREWARD

While working for the Govt. of India in various capacities and finally as its Law Secretary, I had the opportunity to deal with various legal matters and participate in drafting of statutes and various reports. I was blessed with the opportunity to be part of several Indian delegations to various countries on various aspects of law, including mutual assistance in criminal matters. I found that most of the people, whether in India or abroad, are not aware about the basics and practical working of criminal justice system in India. The criminal justice system, codified mainly in Criminal Procedure Code 1973 and Indian Penal Code 1860, is too technical to be understood by common man. The present book on criminal law by Shri Sunil Goel is a ray of hope for all those who always wanted to have basic knowledge about Indian criminal justice system. Apart from explaining the relevant provisions of Criminal Procedure Code, it also inform the readers about various other unspecified aspects of criminal law. Infact, this book, when seen in broader perspective, attempts to give an insight into the working of justice system in India, with emphasis on criminal law. The information given in the Appendices is really precious and informative. The chapters on ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ and subsequent chapter giving other useful information are the life of this book.

Shri Sunil Goel really deserves commendation for writing such a useful book. His in-depth knowledge about the criminal law at such a young age is really marvelous. I wish him all success in his life and particularly wish him good luck for the success of this venture.

Dr. V.K.Agarwal,

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PREFACE :

As I grew up, I realized that there is a severe lack of knowledge

among the general masses about the working of the Govt. and its

various agencies. The day to day life of the people is affected by the

courts, the police and other agencies. But people are not aware

about the various aspects of courts, about the criminal justice system,

about the procedure being followed in criminal courts, about the

various restrictions on the exercise of powers by the police and

the duties of the police officers, and so on. They are also not aware

about their rights when they are accused of an offence. It is because

of this lack of knowledge of the working of the system that the

people are taken for a ride and are unnecessarily harassed and

tortured at the hands of the prosecuting agencies. Through this

book, I have made endeavour to present the working and set up of

courts, the features of Code of Criminal Procedure and other Acts

dealing with criminal law and the rights and safeguards available to

people in times of needs, as nearly as possible, in the language

which a common man understands. I have deliberately avoided using

technical sounding words. In this process of simplifying the things,

so that the common man understands the basic concepts of criminal

law easily, I have not given or discussed the complete sections or

provisions and only given the gist or simple interpretation of the

law. For accurate version, kindly refer the relevant Bare Acts. This

book is aimed at giving basic understanding of the criminal law and

provide most easiest way to understand Code of Criminal

Procedure which is considered the bible for every police officer

and for every court, as every police officer and every criminal court

throughout India is bound to proceed in accordance with the

provisions contained in it. The working of the courts and the various

terms and procedures associated with the courts and police agencies

have also been explained in easy-to-understand way. I have tried to

present the whole criminal justice system from the point of view

of an average person. My endeavour has been to provide the

maximum information to all. However, to thoroughly understand

the information contained in various chapters, the readers are

advised to simultaneously refer to the Criminal Procedure Code

and the Indian Penal Code, the complete texts of which are given

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in the appendix. While the Criminal Procedure Code lays down the

procedure to be followed under the criminal law by all – the courts,

the police, the litigants etc., the Indian Penal Code contains the

definition of various offences and the punishment prescribed for

the various offences.

I hope that the public and the professionals alike will find this book

useful and this book will serve as a reference for them in case of

any contingency relating to criminal justice system. The foreigners,

who want to have information on criminal justice system of India,

particularly, will find this book very useful. I have added the website

addresses and telephone numbers of various authorities and

organisations in the appendix which most of you may find useful.

The samples of various types of petitions and applications commonly

made in the criminal courts have also been added. This, I believe,

would be most handy, particularly for the budding lawyers. I would

like to apprise the readers that the various forms envisaged under

the Cr.P.C. are given in the Second Schedule of Cr.P.C. and the

description of offences under IPC as to whether a particular offence

is bailable or non-bailable, cognizable or non-cognizable, maximum

punishment prescribed for that offence, etc., are specified in First

Schedule of Cr.P.C. While all efforts have been made to ensure that

the various concepts are explained in the most easiest and accurate

way, however, to err is human, and therefore some errors might

have crept up. I will be obliged if the readers of this book bring

such errors to my knowledge so that the same can be rectified in

the next edition. Of course, any suggestions for the improvement

of this book are always welcome.

The scope of this book is to inform the common man about the

remedy available to him against atrocities and harassment, if any, by

the public authorities including by the police. Therefore, I have mainly

dealt with those provisions under which a person can take action

against the public authorities. I have nothing personal against them

and I do hope and believe that they would take this book in right

spirit and would pardon me if they feel hurt. The entire emphasis is

on the common man and the aspects of his vicitmisation.

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embassies, departments of Govt. and public bodies, officers,

bureaucrats, scholars and just anybody who is interested in knowing

the basic and unknown facts about criminal justice system of India.

I am thankful to my whole family who motivated me and stood by

me throughout the writing of this book. I am also thankful to all

those who helped me in the writing of this book. I feel I would be

unfair if I do not express my gratitude and regards to Dr. Sarbjit

Sharma under whose able guidance I learnt the basics of law. Special

regards are also due to Dr. V.K. Agarwal, former Law Secretary

who guided and enlightened me on various finer aspects of law. I

am also grateful to the authors and writers from whose work I

drew freely including Shri R.V.Kelkar, and Mr. M.B.Chande whose

book ‘The Police in India’ provided the inspiration and information

for the chapter on police. I am highly grateful to Justice P.N.Bhagwati,

Dr. V.K.Agarwal and Shri Ramphal Bansal for encouraging me and

blessing me by writing foreward to this work. Most of the contents

of the chapters on Delhi Police, Interpol, CBI and CVC have been

taken from the respective websites. I dedicate this book to my late

grandfather Lala Sohan Lal Goel who always inspired me to move

ahead in life against all odds.

New Delhi

March 25th , 2005

Sunil Goel

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Abbreviations used in this book :

CrPC : Code of Criminal Procedure 1973

IPC : Indian Penal Code 1860

MM : Metropolitan Magistrate

(Wherever the term MM is used in this Book, it should be understood as Judicial Magistrate 1stClass, in case of areas other than metropolitan areas)

IO : Investigating Officer

BW : Bailable warrant

NBW : Non-bailable warrant

Art. : Article of the Constitution of India

Sec : Section

EM : Executive Magistrate

SDM : Sub-divisional Magistrate

DM : District Magistrate

GOI : Govt. of India

UOI : Union of India

SHO : Station House Officer

PS : Police Station

ACP : Asst. Commissioner of Police

DCP : Deputy Commissioner of Police

CP : Commissioner of Police

FIR : First Information Report

SC : Supreme Court

HC : High Court

Min. : Minimum

Max. : Maximum

Govt. : Government

R.I. : Rigorous imprisonment

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2. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) : 91 1. What is the complete procedure being followed after happening of a crime? 91 2. What is an FIR? What is the procedure for lodging an FIR? 95 3. What to do if the police does not register FIR on my complaint? 97 4. What is the power of police to compel a person to appear before it ? 98 4A. What are the powers of Police to interrogate a person? 99

5. What is the law relating to Arrest ? 100

6. What are bailable and non-bailable warrants ? When are these issued ? 104 7. What happens if I do not appear in court even after receiving

summons as an accused in a criminal case ? 105 7A. If I am called as a witness by the criminal Court and I do not

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appear, what happens ? 105 8. What is the sequence of events before and after Arrest ? 106 9. What are the rights of a person who is arrested ? 107 10. What should I do if I am arrested by the police ? 110 11. What is the remedy available to me if I am unlawfully detained or arrested?

Can I file case against police ? Can I claim compensation from police? 111 11A. What is the power of Police to compel a person to appear before it? 113 12. What is the law relating to issue of summons and search warrant

tocompel the production of things, documents etc. ? 114 13. How to know whether an offence is bailable or non-bailable,

cognizable or non-cognizable ? 116

14. Who is a Proclaimed Offender (Bhagoda) ? What happenswhen

a person is declared proclaimed offender ? 118

15. What is Kalandra ? 119

16. What is the remedy in the criminal law for removal of public nuisances? 120 17. What are the proceedings before an Executive Magistrate in case of

dispute/ quarrel over immoveable property? 121

18. Can I compromise a criminal matter with the other party, so that

the case is closed against me ? 122

19. If I am called as a witness and I then appear in the court, am I

entitled to the expenses incurred by me ? 123

20. What questions can not be asked from a witness in a court? 125 21. Is there any punishment for giving false evidence or making false

statement in affidavit or for fabricating false evidence for the

purpose of falsely convicting others? ( perjury) 125 22. Under what circumstances, screening the offender from

punishment is punishable? 128

23. What are the offences involving public servants ? Can they also be punished for any of their act or omission which amounts to an offence? 132 24. Is there any provision in law for compensating the victim of an offence? 138 25. What is the effect of absence of the accused or the complainant in a

complaint case before a magistrate ? 140

26. Is there any limitation for entertaining a case against a person ? 141 27. Are there any circumstances when a criminal case can be disposed

off without full trial ? 142

28. Is there any duty of a person under the law towards his parents,

wife and children? 145

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30. What is the offence of obscenity ? 147 31. What is the remedy available to a woman in case of sexual harassment? 148 32. If a person has not committed an offence but only attempted to

commit that offence, will he still be punished ? (attempt) 149 33. What is the power of the President of India or the Governor of a

State to grant pardon to a person convicted of any offence? 150 34. What are the circumstances in which even the Govt. can also

remit or commute or suspend the sentence of a convict ? 153 35. What are the circumstances in which a person despite being convicted

(i.e. held guilty) can be released by the Court? (probation) 154

36. What is the law relating to the children? 156

37. What action I can take against police or any other public officer

if they harass me ? 157

38. If I have given surety for some accused in Court and he runs away or does not appear in court, what is the worst that can happen to me ? 158 39. What is done when the Investigation of a case is to be carried out in

a foreign country ? 159

40. What is the law in India enabling the courts to issue letters of request (letters of rogatory) to the authorities in foreign countries to take

evidence in relation to cases pending in India ? 160 41. Is prior clearance of Central Govt. required before making a request

to the Indian court for issueing Letter Rogatory to a foreign court ? 161 42. What happens when letter rogatory is issued by an Indian court to

a foreign court? 162

43. Which are the countries with which India has Mutual Legal

Assistance Treaties ? 163

44. What is extradition ? 164

45. What is the law in India regarding extradition of criminals from

foreign countries to India and from India to foreign countries ? 164 46. What is the procedure for seeking the extradition of a criminal from

a foreign country ? 165

47. Which are the countries with which India has extradition treaty ? 167 48. Which are the countries with which India has extradition arrangements? 167 49. What is done when foreigners are arrested in India ? 167 50. What happens when Indians are arrested in foreign countries ? 169

3. Other information 170 1. Where can I find the decisions delivered by the High Court and the

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2. What is a ‘cause list’ ? 170 3. What are the various statutory bodies of advocates ? 171

4. How to identify a senior advocate ? 171

5. Who is ‘amicus curie’ ? 172

6. What is the meaning of ‘Life Imprisonment’? 172 7. What is the law relating to jails in India ? 174 8. Why a person is always hanged in case of death penalty ? What

is the procedure laid down for executing death sentence by hanging? 174

9. What is parole ? 176

10. What are Lok Adalats ? 176

11. Do the politicians enjoy any privilege in respect of offences

committed by them ? 177

12. Can a person file petition directly in the High Court or in the Supreme Court if he is harassed or tortured by Government functionaries ? 178 13. Where and how should I complain against Govt. servants and

public authorities ? 179

14. What is Gazette ? What is its authority ? What is contained in it ?

From where, I can procure the Gazette ? 181

4. Law relating to Bail… 184

1. Bail 184

2. Right to Bail in case of slow investigation and slow trial 186 3. Bail granted by the court can be cancelled in certain situations 187

4. Anticipatory Bail 187

5. Bail bond and Surety bond 188

5. Salient Features of Criminal Procedure Code 1973

(Cr.P.C.) at a glance 192

— Supremacy of Code of Criminal Procedure 192

— Types of punishments by different courts 192

— Arrest without warrant 192

— Arrested person to be treated respectfully 192

— Medical examination of arrested person 193

— Arrested person can’t be kept in lock-up for more than 24 hours 193 — Responsibility to look after wife, children and parents 193

— Nuisance by a person 193

— Disturbance of public peace ( curfew) 194

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— Right of arrested person 194

— Tainted investigation 194

— FIR can be cancelled only by the court 194

— Statement given to police can be retracted 195

— Statement given to Magistrate can not be retracted 195

— Right of bail in case of slow investigation 195

— Right of arrested person to inform friend/relative 195 — Inquest proceedings by SDM in case of unnatural death 196 — Offence committed by an Indian in foreign country 196

— Taking of cognizance by Magistrate 196

— Accused can ask to transfer case to some other magistrate 197 — Cognizance can be taken only by Magistrate’s court 197

— When accused is a public servant 197

— Complaint on behalf of a woman regarding torture 197

— Committal of case to the sessions court 197

— Magistrate can drop the proceedings against the accused even after

taking the cognizance 197

— Discharge of accused 198

— Accused to be present in court on every date 198 — Compensation to accused if he is discharged/acquitted 199

— Withdrawal of complaint 199

— Evidence to be recorded in presence of accused 199

— Recording of evidence of a witness 199

— Formal Evidence can be given by affidavit 199

— No one can be punished for the same offence twice 200 — Duty of court to arrange lawyer for the accused 200

— One of the accused turning ‘approver’ 200

— Trial in criminal case to be held day-to-day 200

— Any witness can be summoned at any stage 200

— Expenses to be paid to witnesses for attending court 201 — Examination of accused by court after prosecution evidence is over 201 — Non-accused can be summoned as accused by court 201

— Compromise in criminal case 201

— Court proceedings open to public 201

— Trial to stop if accused found to be of unsound mind 201 — Witness can be punished for giving false evidence 202

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— Person sentenced to less than 3 years imprisonment entitled to bail

for filing appeal 202

— Power of Supreme Court to transfer any case throughout India 203

— Pregnant woman not to be hanged to death 203

— Power of Govt. to suspend sentence of convict (Remission) 203

— How can surety get himself discharged 203

— Releasing moveable property by court 203

— Power of court to order restoration of possession 204

— No judge can act as judge in his own cause 204

— Extra ordinary powers of the High Court 204

6. Situations when offence not punishable (General Exceptions) 205

7. Matrimonial dispute culminating into harassment by women

under criminal law 221

8. Dishonor of Cheques 226

9. Do you know ? 232 (important pieces of information relating to various Acts )

10. Notable quotes from the Judgments of the Supreme Court and the High Courts 241

11. Ingredients of some common offences under I.P.C. 245

- cheating 245

- criminal breach of trust 245

- forgery 246 - hurt 247 - grievous hurt 247 - murder 248 - kidnapping 250 - rape 250 - theft 251 - extortion 251 - robbery 252 - dacoity 253 - criminal trespass 253 - defamation 254 - criminal intimidation 256

12. Sample performa for various types of Petitions/applications in criminal courts 257 1. Bail Application under Section 436 in a Magistrate’s court in a

case of bailable offence 257

2. Bail Application under Section 437 Cr.P.C. filed in a

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3. Bail Application under Section 439 Cr.P.C. filed in Sessions

Court in a non-bailable offence 259

4. Bail Application under Section 439 Cr.P.C. filed in High Court in

a non-bailable offence 261

5. Anticipatory Bail Application under Section 438 Cr.P.C. filed in

Sessions Court in a non-bailable offence 263

6. Anticipatory Bail Application under Section 438 Cr.P.C. filed in

High Court in a non-bailable offence 265

7. Application under Section 439(2) Cr.P.C. for cancellation of bail 267 8. Application for modification of conditions of bail 269 9. Application under Section 444 Cr.P.C. by a surety for his discharge 271 10. Application by surety for condonation of the penalty imposed

by the court on forfeiture of surety bond for non-appearance

of the accused on the date fixed (section 446 Cr.P.C.) 273 11. Application for depositing the money instead of furnishing

surety (Section 445 Cr.P.C.) 275

12. Application under Section 389 Cr.P.C. moved before the Appellate Court for suspension of sentence and for release of appellant on bail pending the appeal, in case where the

appellant has been convicted by the trial court 277 13. Application for returning articles seized from accused applicant

at the time of his arrest under Section 51 Cr.P.C. 279 14. Application for return of property after the conclusion of the

trial (Section 452 Cr.P.C.) 280

15. Application for payment of money involved in offence to the

innocent purchaser (section 453 Cr.P.C.) 282

16. Application for return of original documents after the disposal

of the case 284

17. Application for restoration of possession of immovable property

(Section 456Cr.P.C.) 285

18. Application by the accused for personal exemption (sec.205) 286 19. Application to Magistrate Court for withdrawal of criminal

complaint (Section 257 Cr. P.C.) 288

20. Petition under Section 407 Cr.P.C. to High Court for transfer of case from one subordinate court to any other subordinate court 289 21. Application under Section 94 Cr.P.C. for searching a particular

place where stolen properties are supposed to have been kept 291 22. Application by an accused at the time of surrendering in the Court 293 23. Application for release of the applicant (convicted by the

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APPENDIX 1 : Judges of Supreme Court ( as on 15.2.2005) 297

APPENDIX 2 : Judges of Delhi High Court ( as on 15.2.2005) 298

APPENDIX 3 : List of all Chief Justices of India uptill now 299

APPENDIX 4 : Important addresses, telephone and email numbers 300

APPENDIX 5 : Important websites 306

APPENDIX 6 : Important phone and fax numbers of Delhi Police 309

APPENDIX 7 : Important addresses, phone and fax numbers of CBI 311

APPENDIX 8 : Some important Sections of Indian Penal Code 318

( frequently used)

APPENDIX 9 : List of members of Interpol 330

APPENDIX 10 : List of District & Sessions Judges in Delhi from

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Courts, Police,

Authorities

&

Common Man

Sunil Goel

B.Sc., LL.B, LL.M.

s r i s h t i b o o k s

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Edition : 2005

Rs. 395.

US $ 17

(for Overseas)

_________________________________________________________________________________ No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever or translated in any other language without the permission in writing of the publishers. Although every care has been taken in the publication of this book, the authors, the publishers and printers shall not be responsible for any loss and damages caused to any person on account of errors or omissions which might have crept in. The publishers shall be obliged if mistakes are brought to their notice for carrying out corrections in the next edition. All disputes shall be subject to Delhi jurisdiction only.

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Constitution of India

Fountain-head of all laws

It is quite unfortunate that most of us are not aware of the various laws which affect us in our day to day life and our rights which we can enforce in case of breach thereof. It is only because of our ignorance of our rights and the safeguards provided in law that we are taken for a ride by various babus and functionaries of the government. We have a sort of fear psychosis in our mind when we are exposed to a ‘difficult’ situation - a simple situation but made difficult by our perception and style of thinking. Many of us nurse a fear from our early days and get panicked on seeing a policeman even though we are innocent. Such a feeling of scare and worry is genesis of the environment we have been brought up in. We feel afraid of going to police station or even approaching a police officer even in times of grave need and even when the situation so demands lest they implicate us in some false case or beat up us and put us behind bars. To live and exist in society, we have to interact with various government departments and agencies. But our mindset is such that we rely on getting our work done through ‘touts’ to avoid ‘problems’ - when there are none. We do not gather courage to directly contact the officer, apprise him of our facts and problems and get a just and speedy recourse to our problem. On the other hand, we succumb to the dictates of middlemen, waste away our hard earned money and still the work is far from complete. All this we do, though unwillingly, only because we are not aware of our rights. It is for the purpose of better governance and regulating the conduct of the public and various state functionaries that various laws are made by the Parliament, though after going through a well laid procedure. Once a law is made, it can not be changed except by way of an amendment. All the officers of the government, who appear to us as demi-gods at time, derive their power from the law under which their office is created or governed and they are bound to act strictly in accordance with the parameters laid down within the particular law/Act. If they exceed their powers or deviate from the procedure laid down, they can be taken to task by anyone of us by way of various safeguards under the law.

All these laws derive their power and authority from the Constitution which is the most important and powerful document of post-independence

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India. The whole country, its people, government, various authorities and functionaries etc. are governed by it. No law can be made and no rule, order or direction can be passed which is contrary to any of the provisions of the Constitution. If any such law is made, the same is liable to be struck down by the courts. Such is the power of the Constitution. Constitution is the source of power and authority of the government. It is a fundamental legal document according to which the government functions. The government is rather under an obligation to function in accordance with the laws written in the Constitution. These laws are called the basic laws of the land. The Constitution lays down precisely what the powers of a particular organ of the gov-ernment are, what things it can or cannot do. The idea is to minimize confusion and conflict in the working of the various organs of the government. It is an instrument of controlling the abuse of power by the government. Its importance in democratic government is very important. It places limits on the activity of the government as well as the citizens. A democratic government is the one in which citizens partici-pate in the functioning of the government, directly or indirectly. It is a government in which the government’s powers are limited and clearly spelt out and under which the citizen’s rights are given clearly. The Constitution is the basic law which defines and delimits the main organs of the government and their jurisdiction. It also defines the basic rights of the citizens and guarantees the protection of the same. The Constitution, thus, is superior to all other laws of the country and no law can be enacted which is not in conformity with the Constitution. The Constitution of India was prepared by the Constituent Assembly having members belonging to different communities and regions of India. These included illustrious personalities like Dr.Rajendra Prasad, Pt.Jawahar Lal Nehru, Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr.Shyama Prasad Mukherji, Sardar Baldev Singh, Mrs.Sarojini Naidu, etc. The Constituent Assembly elected Dr.Rajendra Prasad as its Chairman. Dr.B.R.Ambedkar was appointed as the Chairman of the drafting committee. The Constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 but was enforced on 25th January 1950. Since then we celebrate 26th January every year as our Republic Day as India became a republic with effect from this day. The Constitution of India, which is the second largest Constitution in the world, is a comprehensive document containing 395 articles and several schedules. It has preserved the democratic values to which we had attached the highest importance in our struggle for freedom.

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Under our Constitution, the government performs its activities by dividing them into three categories. These three categories or types of functions or activities are given to three organs of the government. These organs are the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. Each organ looks after one kind of work.

1. The Legislature

The primary function of a government is to maintain law and order. For this, there must be laws. Now laws cannot be made by anyone. It is the function of a government to make laws. The purpose of a law is to introduce certain amount of order in people’s activities. The laws enable human beings to know what they can do and what they cannot and also what will happen if they behave in a particular manner. Legislation or making laws is one of the most important functions of the government. By virtue of the laws, the people know what to expect of each other and also from the government. Citizens have to obey the laws and if they do not obey them, they could be punished. Making of laws is, therefore, a very important activity. In a democratic country like India, laws can be made only by an institution which has proper authority and even this body has to follow a certain procedure in making laws. The branch or organ of the government which passes laws is called the Legislature. It comprises of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

2. The Executive

After laws are passed, there must be some arrangement to ensure that they are obeyed. The organ of the government which implements or administers the laws is called the Executive because it executes laws which are made by the legislature. The President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister with his Council of Ministers and the Bureaucracy, are parts of the Executive.

3. The Judiciary

But making laws and administering them is not the end of the story. Laws can give rise to disputes. There is a possibility that the laws may not be really obeyed. This can happen in two ways. The one is that the citizens might not sometimes obey the laws. But it is also possible that the government, particularly its executive branch, also does not obey a law which is passed by the legislature or may take an action contrary to certain law thereby unnecessarily harassing the citizens. In such cases, there has to be some organization which would look into the matter and decide if the law has been broken by the government or by the citizen and what

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punishment ought to be given to the offender. The organ of the government which does this very important function is called the Judiciary. The judiciary has to handle three kinds of disputes :

(a) Disputes among citizens

(b) a dispute between a citizen and government

(c) a dispute between the central and state governments or between state governments inter-se

Single Unified Judicial system

We in India have two levels of legislature i.e. the legislature at the center, which is called Parliament (Sansad); and the legislature in a State, which is called the State Legislature (Vidhan Mandal). These are independent of each other.

Similarly, we have two sets of executives i.e. the central Council of Ministers and the state Council of Ministers. They, too, have their independent areas of working.

But unlike the legislature and the executive, there is one single unified judicial system for the entire country. The judicial institutions in our country go up like a pyramid. At the lowest level, there are courts in the districts, there is High Court at the state level and on top of the pyramid, there is one single Supreme Court for the entire country. The Supreme Court has the power to supervise and control the entire judicial system in India. Under Article 141, the law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all courts in India.

The important provisions in the Constitution of India which are relevant in relation to the criminal law are Articles 20, 21, 22, 32, 39-A, 72, 105, 134, 136, 141, 161, 194, 226, 227, 350, 361, 368

As per the mandate of Article 20(1), no one can be punished under the criminal law unless he violates some law which is in force at the time when he commits the act or omission in question. For example, even if some action or inaction of a person ‘A’ has caused injury to a person say ‘B’, then A can not be punished if he has not violated any law by his action/inaction. Therefore, to punish A, there must be some law which provides that if A acts or fails to act in a particular manner, then his action/ inaction would be deemed to constitute an offence. As an illustration, there is a law that if a person sell obscene objects to a young person, then he commits an offence punishable with upto 3 years imprisonment. This

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law is provided in Section 293 of the Indian Penal Code. Suppose, on the day when ‘A’ sold the obscene object to a young person, there was no such law. However, after a few days, such a law is made. Then, ‘A’ can not be punished because what he did was not prohibited by law when he did it.

‘Offence’ means an act or omission punishable by law.

I would have loved to discuss here the various provisions of the Constitution, particularly those having a direct bearing on the lives of all of us and affecting our rights, but that is a vast subject in itself and in doing so, I would run the risk of deviating from the subject matter of this book. Suffice it to say that besides other things, the Constitution guarantees certain rights to all the citizens (in certain cases, even to the non-citizens) popularly called the Fundamental Rights. Any violation of these rights by any govt. functionary can be remedied by invoking the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 or by invoking the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution.

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2 Set-up and Functioning of Courts

(Including Qualifications, Eligibility & Promotion of Judges) Before I start explaining about different courts, one must know that the courts can only interpret the law, they can not make the law. The function of making the law is with the Parliament or State Legislature. The judge can not go beyond the law even if he thinks that in the circumstances of the case, different view/decision should be given. Howsoever harsh the consequences may be, which may not be to his own taste or to society’s taste, he has to give the decision according to what the law says and on the basis of evidence, if any. The law passed by the Parliament and/or the Legislature of a State represent the will of the people and therefore the same can not be ignored.

However, any law passed by the Parliament or any State Legislature has to be fair and reasonable, as implicit in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. If a law is unreasonable, it can be struck down by the Supreme Court and the High Courts as unconstitutional.

Even if a matter is being adjudicated by a court, the Legislature can pass a law ( but satisfying the test of reasonableness) on the very same subject. Suppose, the Parliament makes a law that henceforth all persons convicted of the offence of rape would be given death penalty. In such a case, the judges are bound to give death punishment to persons who are ultimately held guilty of rape and they have no discretion to award lesser punishment even if they are of the view that lesser punishment should be awarded. Supreme Court

Chapter IV ( articles 124-147) of the Constitution of India deals with the judiciary of the Union of India. All these articles basically deals with the Supreme Court. Every judge of Supreme Court is appointed by the President of India and can be removed from his office only by an order of the President which can be passed only after an impeachment motion against the judge on ground of misbehaviour or incapacity is passed by a majority of not less than 2/3rd members of each House of the Parliament and each House urges the President to remove the said judge. In practice, the procedure to remove a Supreme Court judge is very tedious and rarely a judge is removed from his office. There is only one instance, when impeachment motion was brought against Justice V. Ramaswamy (Judge

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of Supreme Court) in the Parliament but the same could not find support of the majority and the hence the resolution to remove him fell.

The qualifications for becoming a judge of Supreme Court, as prescribed in Article 124 of the Constitution of India, are that he must be a citizen of India, and

(a) he must have been a judge of High Court for at least 5 years, or (b) he must have been an advocate of the High Court for at least 10

years, or

(c) he must be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. The seat of the Supreme Court is in Delhi. However, with the approval of the President, the Chief Justice of India may appoint other places also for sitting of the Supreme Court. The Article 141 states that the law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all the courts in India. Under Article 143, the President can consult the Supreme Court on any question of public importance. The number of judges in the Supreme Court is fixed, which at present is 25. The seniormost judge of the Supreme Court is designated as Chief Justice of India. The age of retirement for a Supreme Court Judge is 65 years. After the retirement, no judge of the Supreme Court can practice in any Court or before any Authority in India. The basic salary of a Supreme Court judge at present is Rs.30,000 per month and that of the Chief Justice of India is Rs.33,000 per month. The service conditions of the judges of the Supreme Court, providing for their salaries, other perks and facilities, are governed by ‘The Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act 1958’.

High Court

Chapter V (articles 214-232) deals with the High Courts in the States. Every High Court consists of a Chief Justice and such number of other Judges as may be deemed necessary to appoint by the President from time to time. The Chief Justice of a High Court is generally the seniormost judge of the High Court. Every judge of High Court is appointed by the President of India, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor and the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court and can be removed from his office only by an order of the President which can be passed only after an impeachment motion against the judge on ground of misbehaviour or incapacity is passed by a majority of not less than 2/3rd members of each House of Parliament and each House urges the President to remove the said judge. In practice, the procedure to remove a judge is

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very tedious and rarely a judge is removed from his office. Now, as per the procedure evolved by the Supreme Court, in case of a reasonable charge against a sitting judge of High Court, a committee comprising three Supreme Court judges is appointed by the Chief Justice of India to enquire into the allegations against the particular judge. This Committee make enquiries and make appropriate recommendations to the Chief Justice of India. Based on this report, either the judge concerned is absolved of the charges or is deprived of the judicial work or his name is recommended to the Govt. for impeachment. The age of retirement for a High Court Judge is 62 years. After the retirement, no judge of the High Court is allowed to practice in the same High Court ( i.e. the High Courts in which he has functioned as a Judge) or any other Authority or subordinate courts in India. However, he may practice in the Supreme Court and the other High Courts in which he has not served as a Judge. The basic salary of a High Court judge at present is Rs. 26,000 per month and that of the Chief Justice of High Court is Rs.30,000 per month. The service conditions of the judges of the High Court, providing for their salaries, other perks and facilities, are governed by ‘The High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act 1954’.

The qualifications for becoming a judge of High Court, as prescribed in Article 217 of the Constitution of India, are that he must be a citizen of India, and

(a) he must have been a judicial officer anywhere in India for at least 10 years; or

(b) he must have been an advocate of the High Court for at least 10 years.

The High Court has been given the power under Article 226 to issue writs, orders and directions to the various authorities and functionaries of the Govt. if these authorities exceed the power given to them or if the fundamental rights of any person are violated. This is the most widely used article of the Constitution and almost every writ is filed in the High Court under this article by anyone feeling aggrieved by any action or inaction of any Govt. office or authority. Under article 227, the High Court has been given the power to act as superintendent over all the lower courts within its jurisdiction. For example, the Delhi High Court exercises powers over all the district courts like Tis Hazari, Patiala House, Karkardooma and may issue directions to the lower courts and may also call for the records/file of any case from them. However, the High Court does not have this power in respect of any court or tribunal constituted for the Armed Forces.

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District and Subordinate Courts

Chapter VI (articles 233-237) deals with the subordinate courts i.e the district courts under the control of the High Court. Every district in a State is headed by a District Judge. The District Judge is the seniormost judge amongst all the judges of the various courts within the particular district and is the incharge for all the courts within his district. The judges of the courts within a district are the judicial officers as they are appointed by the State Government. On the other hand, the judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court are called Justices and Lordships, their’s is a constitutional appointment and they enjoy wide constitutional powers. The District Judge is appointed by the Governor of the particular State in consultation with the High Court. The eligibility for appointment as a district judge are that :

(a) he must have been an advocate/pleader for at least 7 years; and (b) High Court must recommend for his appointment.

The other judges of the district courts are appointed by the Governor in accordance with the rules made in this behalf by him after consulting the State Public Service Commission and the High Court.

Under Article 235, the High Courts exercises control over the district courts and courts subordinate to the district court. The High Court alone is empowered to decide the matters like posting, promotion, grant of leave of all judicial officers in the State inferior to the District Judge. The High Court keeps a constant and vigil watch over the functioning of the judges of the lower judiciary and if it finds that any of them is indulging in unfair practices, then it recommends for his suspension or supersession or demotion.

By virtue of Article 236, the expression ‘district judge’ includes judge of a city civil court, additional district judge, joint district judge, assistant district judge, chief judge of a small cause court, chief presidency magistrate, additional chief presidency magistrate, sessions judge, additional sessions judge and assistant sessions judge.

The age of retirement of all judges in the District Courts and the subordinate courts is 60 years.

It may be noted that the procedure in every civil court in India is governed by the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and the procedure in every criminal court in India is governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973.

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Procedure for recruitment to Judiciary :

Broadly speaking, there can be said to be 4 levels of judiciary :

The entry to the 1st level ( i.e. subordinate courts) is through entrance examination. Any law graduate enrolled with the state bar council and having min.3 years practice as an advocate and less than 32 years of age can appear in the competitive examination followed by interview held by the state government under supervision and control of the High Court and get appointed as Civil Judge or Metropolitan Magistrate (M.M). This is the only mode of entry to the first level. (This system of entry to the judiciary is prevalent in Delhi and several other States. Recently, the rerquirement of 3 years experience has been done away with in Delhi). The entry to the 2nd level (i.e. the District Courts) can be made through two modes:

One, the judicial officers at the 1st level in due course are promoted to the 2nd level.

Second mode of entry is directly from the advocates. Any law graduate having minimum 7 years standing as an advocate and minimum 35 years of age becomes entitled to appear in the examination held to appoint judges to the 2nd level. In this examination, only interview is held (recently a formal written examination has also been started) which is taken by the High Court judges. On selection, a person is directly appointed to the 2nd level of judiciary and designated as Addl. Sessions judge or Addl. District Judge or similar designations, which varies from State to State. (The actual eligibility conditions of a candidate for appointment to the 2nd level may vary from State to State). The District Judge is generally the seniormost judicial officer in the 2nd level.

At the 1st and 2nd level, there is no transfer from one State to another State.

The entry to the 3rd level, that is, the High Court, can also be made through two modes :

One, the senior judicial officers at the 2nd level in due course are promoted to the 3rd level. Strictly speaking, it is not the promotion but a fresh appointment. The difference is that while the appointment to the 1st and 2nd levels is made by the Governor, the appointment to the 3rd level is made by the President of India. (On 30th November 2000, 6 judges from the 2nd level were appointed as Delhi High Court Judges, namely Justice M.A.Khan, Justice Sharda Aggarwal, Justice O.P.Dwivedi, Justice

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B.N.Chaturvedi, Justice R.C.Chopra, Justice J.D.Kapoor. Thereafter, the District Judge Shri R.C.Jain was appointed as High Court Judge and his successor Shri H.R.Malhotra was also elevated to the High Court on 26.8.2002. The next District Judge Shri J.P. Singh and next senior most Additional District Judge Ms. Manju Goel were elevated as High Court Judges on 05.07.2004).

Second mode of entry is directly from the advocates. Any law graduate having 10 year standing as high court advocate can be appointed directly as High court Judge by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State and the Chief Justice of the State High Court. (In this manner, on 20th December 2002, two advocates were directly appointed as Delhi High Court judges. They are Justice Predeep Nandrajog and Justice Badar Durej Ahmad. Thereafter, on 16.07.2004, three more advocates viz. Ms. Geeta Mittal, Shri Anil Kumar and Shri S.R. Bhatt were appointed as High Court Judges in Delhi). A High Court judge retires on attaining the age of 62 years.

The entry to the 4th level, that is, the Supreme Court, can also be made through two modes :

One, the High Court Judges (i.e. Judges at the 3rd level) in due course, basically depending upon their seniority, are elevated to the 4th level i.e. become Supreme Court judges. Strictly speaking, it is not the promotion but a fresh appointment by the President of India.

Second mode of entry is directly from the advocates. Any person having 10 years standing as high court advocate or who is a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President can be appointed directly as Supreme Court Judge by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. In this manner, some time back Shri Santosh Hegde who was practicing as an advocate mainly in Supreme Court was appointed directly as Supreme Court Judge. Earlier to him, Shri Kuldip Singh, who is known for his landmark judgments on pollution and environment especially in M.C.Mehta’s cases, was appointed in this fashion as Supreme Court judge, elevated directly from advocate. A Supreme Court judge retires on attaining the age of 65 years.

National Judicial Commission

The Govt. of India on 8th May 2003 introduced a Bill (Bill No.41 of 2003) in the Lok Sabha to create a National Judicial Commission (NJC) for appointment of Supreme Court Judges, for appointment and transfer of High Court Judges, and to create a mechanism through which the NJC

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will discipline the erring Judges. The Bill is called the Constitution (Ninety-Eighth Amendment) Bill 2003.

The need for such a Commission had been long felt to deal effectively with the matters concerning the cases of misconduct and deviant behaviour among the Judges. This need has been aggravated by recent cases of alleged corruption, favouritism and abuse of power among the members of the higher judiciary.

The National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution (NCRWC) has in its report proposed the constitution of such a NJC. The Bill seeks to make the following changes in the Constitution of India : (i) in Article 124(2), the portion shown in italics hereunder is deleted : “Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years :

Provided that in the case of appointment of a judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India shall always be consulted :

Provided further that-”

And is substituted by the following portion shown in bold :

“on the recommendation of the National Judicial Commission and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years:

Provided that-”

(ii) in Article 217, the portion shown in italics hereunder is deleted : “Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State, and, in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court and shall hold office, in the case of an additional or acting Judge, as provided in article 224, and in any other case, until he attains the age of sixty-two years :”

“on the recommendation of the National Judicial Commission” (iii) in Article 222, the portion shown in italics hereunder is deleted :

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“The President may, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, transfer a Judge from one High Court to any other High Court.”

“on the recommendation of the National Judicial Commission” (iv) in Article 231, the portion shown in italics hereunder is deleted : “(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding provisions of this Chapter, Parliament may by law establish a common High Court for two or more States or for two or more States and a Union Territory. (2) In relation to any such High

Court,-(a) the reference in article 217 to the Governor of the State shall be construed as a reference to the Governors of all the States in relation to which the High Court exercises jurisdiction;”

“(a) the reference in clause (3) of article 147A to the Chief Minister of the State shall be construed as a reference to the Chief Ministers of all the States in relation to which the High Court exercises jurisdiction;”

(v) in Part V of the Constitution, after Chapter IV, the following Chapter IVA is inserted :

“CHAPTER IVA – NATIONAL JUDICIAL COMMISSION 147A.

(1) The President shall by order constitute a Commission, referred to in this Constitution as the National Judicial Commission. (2) Without prejudice to the provisions of clause (3), the National

Judicial Commission shall consist of the following

:-a) the Chief Justice of India, who shall be the Chairperson of the Commission;

b) two other Judges of the Supreme Court next to the Chief Justice of India in seniority;

c) the union Minister in-charge of Law and Justice; and d) one eminent citizen to be nominated by the President in

consultation with the Prime Minister:

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(d) shall hold office for a period of three years.

(3) in the case of appointment or transfer of a Judge of a High Court, the Chief Justice of that High Court and the Chief Minister of that State or, when a proclamation under article 356 is in operation in that State, the Governor of that State, shall be associated with the Commission.

(4) It shall be the duty of the Commission

-a) to make recommendation of persons for appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court, Chief Justices of High Courts and the Judges of the High Courts;

b) to make recommendation for the transfer of the Chief Justices of High Courts and the Judges of High Courts from one High court to any other High Court;

c ) to draw up a code of ethics for Judges of the Supreme court, Chief Justices of High Courts and the Judges of the High Courts;

d) to inquire into suo motu or on a complaint or reference, cases of misconduct or such deviant behaviour of a Judge other than those calling for his removal and advise the Chief Justice of India or the Chief Justice of a High Court appropriately after such inquiry.

(5) The recommendation made by the Commission under clause (4) shall be binding.

(6) No person, who is not recommended for appointment as a Judge by the commission, shall be so appointed by the President. (7) The Commission shall have the power to regulate its own

procedure including the procedure to be followed under sub-clause (d) of sub-clause (4).”

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3 Hierarchy of Criminal Courts in India

The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 is the basic document which governs the establishment and functioning of various courts and authorities under the criminal justice system.

Apart from a High Court in each State, as mandated by Article 214 of the Constitution of India, the Code of Criminal Procedure prescribes in Section 6 that there should be following classes of Criminal Courts in every State: (i) Session Courts

(ii) Judicial Magistrate of the 1st class (and a Metropolitan Magistrate in every Metropolitan area)

(iii) Judicial Magistrate of the 2nd class (iv) Executive Magistrate

For the purpose of dispensation of justice in the cases of criminal nature, each State is divided into certain divisions, which are commonly called the Sessions divisions. In certain situations, the whole State itself can be one Sessions division. Each Sessions division comprises one district or more than one districts, depending upon the size of the State. However, every metropolitan area (i.e., area/city/town having population of more than 10 lakhs and declared as Metropolitan area by the State Government by a notification) is necessarily treated as a district and a sessions division. Each District can be further sub-divided into sub-divisions, by the State Govern-ment after consultation with the High Court.

The State Government after consultation with the High Court can increase or decrease the limits or the number of such sessions divisions, districts or sub-divisions in the State.

The above provisions can be better understood by means of the following diagram:

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16 _{Courts, Police, Authorities & Common Man} INDIA

6

States

6

Sessions Division Metropolitan Area

6

(treated as a separate

Districts Sessions Division and

6

District)

Sub-Divisions

It is the duty of the State Government to establish for every Sessions division a Sessions Court which is presided over by a Judge appointed by the High Court, designated as Sessions Judge. Depending upon the workload, the High Court can also appoint Additional Sessions Judges and Assistant Sessions Judges in a sessions court. Thus, informally speaking, there is one Sessions Court in a sessions division but in case of large workload, more benches can be created in the same Sessions Court, each bench presided by Addl. Sessions Judge or Asst. Sessions Judge. All Assistant Sessions Judges are subordinate to the Sessions Judge. The Sessions Judge allocates the cases to the Asst. Sessions Judges.

In every district ( not being a metropolitan area), the State Govt. after consultation with the High Court establishes by notification Courts of Judicial Magistrates of the first class (JMIC) and of the second class (JM2C) (in respect of the sub-divisions), whose presiding officers are appointed by the High Court. One of the Judicial Magistrate of the first class is appointed by the High Court as Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) for the district. The High Court can also appoint any Judicial Magistrate of the first class as Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) who has all the powers of a CJM.

In any sub-division, any Judicial Magistrate of the first class can be designated as Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) by the High Court. Every SDJM exercises supervision and control over the work of the Judicial Magistrates in the sub-division. Every SDJM in turn is subject to the general control of the CJM.