Understanding the Powers of Criminal Courts in India

Every time a criminal case is filed in India, a series of institutional wheels begin turning – but not all wheels turn with the same force. Whether it is a petty theft case before a Magistrate or a murder trial in a Sessions Court, the power exercised by each court is carefully calibrated by law. Understanding how much authority each court holds, and what sentences it can pass, is fundamental to grasping how India’s criminal justice system operates. This framework, originally governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), is now regulated by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which came into effect on 1 July 2024.

The legal foundation: how courts get their powers 🔗

Criminal courts in India do not derive their powers arbitrarily. The Constitution of India establishes the Supreme Court under Article 124 and the High Courts under Article 214. Below them, the procedural law – first the CrPC, now the BNSS – creates and empowers the lower criminal courts. Section 6 of both the CrPC and the BNSS classifies the criminal courts operating in every State into distinct tiers, each with jurisdiction and sentencing powers proportionate to the gravity of the offences they handle.

This tiered structure ensures that a Magistrate does not overstep into the domain of a Sessions Judge, and that every accused person has recourse to a higher court. The courts are organised from the apex downward: the Supreme Court, High Courts, Sessions Courts, and Magistrate Courts.

Powers of the Supreme Court in criminal matters 🔗

The Supreme Court sits at the pinnacle of India’s judicial system. In criminal matters, its powers are both wide and varied. It exercises original jurisdiction under Article 131 for disputes between the Centre and States. More relevantly for criminal law, it has appellate jurisdiction to hear appeals against the final orders of High Courts – including in cases where a High Court has reversed an acquittal or confirmed a death sentence. The Supreme Court can also transfer criminal cases from one High Court to another or from one State’s subordinate court to another’s, ensuring fair trial in sensitive matters.

Critically, the Supreme Court holds the exclusive authority to authoritatively interpret the Constitution. Any question of criminal law touching constitutional validity – such as whether a particular penal provision violates fundamental rights – can only be conclusively settled by the Supreme Court.

Powers of the High Court 🔗

Each State’s High Court exercises superintendence over all criminal courts within its jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution. This is not a passive oversight role – the High Court can call for returns, prescribe rules of practice, and examine records from subordinate courts. In terms of sentencing, a High Court may pass any sentence authorised by law. There is no ceiling on the punishment a High Court can impose when exercising original criminal jurisdiction or when hearing appeals.

The High Court’s revisional powers are particularly significant. It can examine records of proceedings in any subordinate criminal court, modify findings, and even enhance sentences if it finds that justice demands it. A death sentence imposed by a Sessions Court must be confirmed by the High Court under Section 366 of the CrPC (and the equivalent provision in the BNSS) before it can be carried out – making the High Court a mandatory checkpoint in capital punishment cases.

Powers of the Sessions Court 🔗

The Sessions Court is established for each sessions division in a State. The Sessions Judge, appointed by the High Court, presides over the court. The Sessions Court has original jurisdiction over serious offences – particularly those attracting punishment of more than seven years of imprisonment, such as murder, rape, and armed robbery – which are committed to it after committal proceedings in a Magistrate’s court.

Sentencing powers of the Sessions Judge 🔗

Under Section 28(2) of the CrPC (mirrored in the BNSS), a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge may pass any sentence authorised by law, including the death penalty. However, a death sentence passed by the Sessions Judge does not take immediate effect – it must be submitted to the High Court for confirmation. This safeguard prevents the irreversible consequence of capital punishment from being executed without higher judicial scrutiny.

The Sessions Court also exercises appellate jurisdiction over decisions of Magistrates within its division. Under Section 374(3) of the CrPC, appeals against Magistrate convictions lie to the Sessions Court. Additionally, under Section 406 of the CrPC, a Sessions Judge may transfer a case from one criminal court to another within the sessions division – either on a lower court’s report, on a party’s application, or on its own initiative.

The Assistant Sessions Judge – abolished under BNSS 🔗

Under the old CrPC, an Assistant Sessions Judge could pass any sentence except death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment exceeding ten years. The BNSS has removed the designation of Assistant Sessions Judge entirely, streamlining the Sessions Court structure to consist only of the Sessions Judge and Additional Sessions Judges.

Powers of Magistrate Courts 🔗

The Magistrate Courts handle the bulk of criminal work across India. They are the courts most citizens interact with first – for bail applications, preliminary hearings, and trials of lesser offences. Their powers, while more limited than Sessions Courts, are critical to day-to-day criminal justice administration.

Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) 🔗

In every district (other than metropolitan areas under the old CrPC), a Chief Judicial Magistrate is appointed from among the Judicial Magistrates of the First Class. Under Section 29(1) of the CrPC, the CJM may pass any sentence authorised by law except death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment exceeding seven years. The CJM also supervises and controls the work of all other Judicial Magistrates in the district and is subordinate only to the Sessions Judge.

Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) 🔗

The Judicial Magistrate of the First Class handles a wide range of criminal matters. In terms of sentencing, the JMFC can impose imprisonment up to three years and a fine up to ₹10,000 (with state-specific variations in Maharashtra and Rajasthan permitting up to ₹50,000). These courts also handle preliminary stages of serious offences before committing them to the Sessions Court. They deal with bail applications, recording of statements, and trials of summons cases.

Judicial Magistrate Second Class (JMSC) 🔗

At the lowest tier of the Magistrate hierarchy, the Judicial Magistrate of the Second Class can impose imprisonment up to one year and a fine up to ₹5,000. Their jurisdiction is restricted to minor offences, and they serve as essential entry-points for the criminal justice system in rural and semi-urban areas.

Metropolitan Magistrates – abolished under BNSS 🔗

Under the CrPC, Metropolitan Magistrates functioned in cities with a population exceeding one million, with powers equivalent to those of the Judicial Magistrate First Class. The BNSS has abolished the concept of Metropolitan Magistrates and metropolitan areas entirely, replacing this distinction with a unified Magistrate structure applicable across all districts.

Powers of Executive Magistrates 🔗

Executive Magistrates occupy a different position from Judicial Magistrates – they are appointed by the State Government and perform primarily administrative and preventive functions rather than adjudicative ones. Their criminal powers are nonetheless significant. Under Section 144 of the CrPC, an Executive Magistrate can pass orders restraining individuals from committing certain acts or prohibiting gatherings in an area – a power commonly invoked during public order situations. They are also empowered to determine bail amounts, receive persons arrested outside local jurisdiction, and in specific circumstances, direct dispersal of unlawful assemblies, including authorising the use of force proportionate to the situation.

Special Executive Magistrates may be appointed for particular areas or functions and vested with powers equivalent to those of ordinary Executive Magistrates. Under the BNSS, Executive Magistrates retain their essential preventive functions, continuing to serve as the interface between law enforcement and the judiciary in field situations.

Jurisdiction over juveniles 🔗

A specific carve-out in the sentencing powers of criminal courts relates to juvenile offenders. Section 27 of the CrPC (and its equivalent in the BNSS) provides that a person below the age of sixteen years cannot be sentenced to death or imprisonment for life. Such cases are to be tried by the Chief Judicial Magistrate or by courts specifically empowered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. This provision reflects the rehabilitative rather than punitive approach that the law mandates towards young offenders.

Sentencing in cases involving multiple offences 🔗

When an accused is convicted of multiple offences in a single trial, the court has the power to pass separate sentences for each offence. The sentences may be directed to run either concurrently or consecutively. However, the total aggregate punishment cannot exceed fourteen years, and the combined punishment must not exceed twice the maximum sentence the court is competent to impose for a single offence. This ceiling prevents disproportionate sentencing while still allowing courts to reflect the full gravity of multi-offence conduct.

What changed with the BNSS, 2023 🔗

The BNSS came into force on 1 July 2024, replacing the CrPC. In terms of the powers of criminal courts, most substantive provisions – particularly the sentencing limits for Magistrates and Sessions Courts – have been retained. However, several structural changes have been made. The designation of Assistant Sessions Judge has been removed. The concept of Metropolitan Magistrate and metropolitan areas has been abolished. Procedural timelines have been introduced: Sessions Courts must frame charges within 60 days of the first hearing, and judgments must be delivered within 30 days of the conclusion of arguments (extendable to 45 days). These changes are aimed at reducing delays, which have long been a challenge in India’s criminal courts.

The BNSS also preserves the savings clause, ensuring that cases registered under the CrPC before 1 July 2024 continue to be governed by the old code’s procedures, while new cases follow the BNSS framework.

The role of court powers in upholding the rule of law 🔗

The careful delineation of powers across criminal courts is not a bureaucratic formality – it is the structural expression of proportionality in justice. A petty offence does not need the machinery of a Sessions Court; equally, a murder trial cannot be disposed of by a Second Class Magistrate with a one-year sentencing cap. The hierarchical distribution of powers ensures that each level of the judiciary handles the level of criminal conduct that matches its authority, while appellate and supervisory mechanisms ensure accountability at every rung. The mandatory confirmation of death sentences by the High Court, the right of appeal to the Sessions Court against Magistrate orders, and the Supreme Court’s overarching transfer and supervisory powers together create a system of checks that protects accused persons, victims, and society alike.

What do you think? With the abolition of Metropolitan Magistrates under the BNSS, how do you think urban areas with high case volumes will manage the additional caseload that now falls on regular Judicial Magistrates? And given that Magistrate courts handle the overwhelming majority of criminal cases in India, do the current sentencing limits adequately reflect the range of offences these courts encounter?

References

1. https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita-2023
2. https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-5099-hierarchy-of-criminal-courts-and-their-jurisdiction.html
3. https://www.defactojudiciary.in/notes/constitution-of-criminal-courts-crpc
4. https://blog.ipleaders.in/power-criminal-courts-india/
5. https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3ec037371364b3d72ac9a3ed8638e6f0b/uploads/2023/05/2023052017.pdf
6. https://www.drishtijudiciary.com/to-the-point/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita-&-code-of-criminal-procedure/constitution-of-criminal-courts-under-bnss
7. https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-4703-constitution-of-criminal-courts-and-their-power.html
8. https://blog.ipleaders.in/criminal-courts/
9. https://lawbhoomi.com/constitution-of-criminal-courts-and-their-powers/
10. https://legalonus.com/constitution-and-power-of-criminal-courts-in-india-a-comparitive-study-of-the-bnss-2023-and-crpc-1973/
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Nagarik_Suraksha_Sanhita