BABASAHEB BHIMRAO AMBEDKAR UNIVERSITY,

LUCKNOW

PROJECT REPORT ON
CONSTITUTION
OF CRIMINAL COURTS

SUBMITTED TO
: Dr. Asish Shahi
SUBJECT
: Criminal Procedure
Code, Juvenile Justice And
Probation of Offenders Act

SUBMITTED BY:
MIHIR SINGH
: 206614
[BBA LL.B. (HONS.
)]
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any project completed or done in isolation is unthinkable. This project, although
prepared by me, is a culmination of efforts of a lot of people. Firstly, I would like
to thank my professor for helping me understand Criminal Procedure, Without his
valuable suggestions towards the making of this project.
Further to that, I would also like to express my gratitude towards our seniors who
were a lot of help for the completion of this project. The contributions made by my
classmates and friends are, definitely, worth mentioning.
I would like to express my gratitude towards the library staff for their help. And all
my fellow colleges and dear ones.

Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..........................................................................................................................
2
Structure of Criminal Courts: ........................................................................................................................
5
Hierarchy of Criminal Courts in India ..........................................................................................................
6
1.1 Subordinate Courts ........................................................................................................................ 6
 1.2 Sessions Courts ............................................................................................................................. 7
1.3 Metropolitan Magistrate Courts .................................................................................................... 7
1.4 Judicial Magistrate Courts ............................................................................................................ 7
2. High Courts .......................................................................................................................................
7
3. Supreme Court ..................................................................................................................................
8
Functioning of Criminal Courts ....................................................................................................................
9
BIBLOGRAPHY: .......................................................................................................................................
10

INTRODUCTION

The Indian Criminal law has been in existence for more than hundred of years, it was only under
the rule of British when the law was then codified and restructured during this period. This was
the very first phase of development of modern criminal law in India. The major laws which
where coded and written were Indian Penal Code in 1860, Indian Evidence Act in 1872 and
Criminal Procedure Code in 1898. Later in 1973 Criminal Procedure Code amended to
deregulate colonial Criminal Procedure law and new a Criminal Procedure Code of 1973 was
adopted as per the needs and system of Independent India.
The Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) is a procedural law which states how the police machinery
is to function as far as investigation and procedure is to be followed by courts during
investigation and trial. The CrPC classifies criminal offences into several categories such as
bailable, non-bailable, cognizable and non-cognizable offences. The procedural treatment of
different offences is different. The various steps at the time to filing a complaint such as filing a
First Information Report (FIR), gathering evidence and initiating an enquiry are all governed by
the CrPC. The CrPC further lays down classes of criminal courts.

In this assignment I will be discussing about the structure of the Criminal Courts in India.

Structure of Criminal Courts:

The Judicial setup, in India, in the present day is an extension of the British Legal
System. The Supreme Court is the apex body, followed by 24 High Courts, which in turn
supervise and govern numerous District Courts. Article 129 of the Constitution of India
makes the Supreme Court a 'court of record' and confers all the powers of such a court
including the power to punish for its contempt as well as of its subordinate courts. Article
141 of the Constitution of India provides that the law declared by Supreme Court is
binding on all courts. Judiciary in India plays an important role of interpreting and
applying the law and adjudicating upon controversies between the citizens, the states and
many other parties. It is the function of the courts to maintain the rule of law in the
country and to defend civil and political rights. As India has a written constitution, courts
have an additional function of safeguarding the sovereignty of the Constitution by
interpreting and applying its provisions and limiting the functioning of all authorities
 within the constitutional structure. In a federation, i.e. union of states, the judiciary has
another significant assignment, specifically to decide controversies between the
constituent states inter-se as well as between the Union and the States. While the power
of the Parliament to legislate is supreme, at the same time the Judiciary has been made
the ombudsman of Indian democracy. The role of the judiciary has been ever changing
and has evolved based on the constitution of India and the socio-economic needs of the
country. The expression 'basic structure' was introduced for the first time in the case
Golaknath V. State of Punjab (AIR 1967 SC 1643), but it was only in 1973 that this
expression was used by the Supreme Court and it means and includes those features of
the Constitution which lay at its principal need much more than the usual ways to change
them. It was held in the famous Kesvananda Bharati case that any amendment which
intents at abrogating the basic structure of the Constitution would be unconstitutional.
Hence, every proposed amendment is subject to judicial scrutiny if it is intended at
abrogating the basic structure of the Constitution. Constituent elements of the basic
structure comprise the supremacy of the Constitution, republican and democratic form of
government, secular character of the Constitution, separation of powers between
the legislature, executive and the judiciary and mainly the federal character of the
Constitution. In addition, the Judiciary also has the authority of judicial review. It
indicates that every section of legislation passed by the Parliament is subject to judicial
scrutiny by the Supreme Court of India. No detailed provisions exist for this
arrangement, however the power and extent of judicial review has been elucidated
through various judicial pronouncements. The Supreme Court of India, thus, has the
power to strike down any piece of legislation intended at amending the Indian
Constitution on two grounds. Firstly, if the procedure prescribed under Article 368 is not
followed and secondly, if the amending Act seeks to violate one or more basic features of
the Constitution. In India, in addition to the above, the Judiciary also has the significant
function of protecting and enforcing the fundamental rights of the people guaranteed to
them by the Constitution. The Supreme Court keeps a watch on the functions of the other
branches of the state as to whether they are functioning in accordance with the
Constitution and other laws made by the Parliament and the State legislatures.

Hierarchy of Criminal Courts in India

1.1 Subordinate Courts: The subordinate judiciary in each district is headed by a
District and Sessions Judge. The usual designations on the civil side are District
Judge, Additional District Judge, and Civil Judge. On the criminal side, the widely
 known designations are Sessions Judge, Additional Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Judicial Magistrate etc. The Governor in consultation with the High Court
of that particular State appoints the district judges. According to the Article 233, a
person who is not already in Government Service should have at least seven years’
experience at the bar to become eligible for the position of a District Judge.
Appointment of persons other than District Judges to the judicial service of a State
shall be made by the Governor in accordance with rules made there under. Besides the
State Public Service Commission, the High Court has to be consulted in the matter of
such appointments vide Article 234.

1.2 Sessions Courts : As per Section 9 of Criminal Procedure Code, the court is
established by the State Government for every Sessions Division. The court is
presided over by a Judge, appointed by the High Court of that particular state. The
High Court may also appoint Additional Sessions Judges and Assistant Sessions
Judges in this court. The Sessions Court has the power to impose any sentence
including capital punishment, but the same has to be confirmed by the High Court.

1.3 Metropolitan Magistrate Courts: The Courts of Metropolitan Magistrates are

created by Section 16 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Court of Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate and those of The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrates
are 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.

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

2. High Courts The High Courts are the highest court in the state. According to the Article
214, there shall be High Court for each state, and every High Court shall be a court of
record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for
contempt of itself vide Article 215. The High Court stands at the head of the Judiciary in
a State. It enjoys civil as well as criminal, ordinary as well as extraordinary and general
as well as special jurisdiction. The institution of the High Court is fairly old as it dates
back to 1862 when under the Indian High Court Act- 1861 High Courts were established
at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. In course of time, other High Courts have also been
established. The High Courts of the respective state enjoys an Original Jurisdiction in
respect of testamentary, matrimonial and guardianship matters. Original Jurisdiction is
conferred on the High Court under various statutes. The High Courts also enjoy
extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 to issue various writs. Each High Court has
supervisory power over subordinate courts under it. Each High Court, being a court of
record enjoys the power to punish for its contempt as well as of its subordinate courts.
Article 231 talks about the establishment of a common High Court for two or more States
and a Union territory by the parliament, as in the case of the state of Haryana and Punjab,
there is one High Court of Chandigarh. There is a High Court for each of the States,
except Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland which have the High Court of Assam
at Guwahati as their common High Court. Goa is under Mumbai High Court. The
Government as on 26 January 2013 has constituted three new High Courts in the
Northeast - Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, taking the total number of High Courts in
the country from 21 to 24. The jurisdiction of the High Court of a state is co-terminus
with the territorial limits of that state. The original jurisdiction of High court includes the
enforcement of the Fundamental Rights, settlement of disputes relating to the election to
the Union and State legislatures and jurisdiction over revenue matters. Its appellate
jurisdiction extends to both civil and criminal matters.

3. Supreme Court The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts and
is the highest court of the land. The Supreme Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the
High Courts to issue directions, orders and writs for enforcement of fundamental rights as
given under Article 32 of Constitution of India. These are in the nature of the writs of
Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto. These writs make
the Supreme Court a protector and guarantor of fundamental rights. The idea is that in
 case of violation of a law or right, the Court may issue directions for obedience with the
Constitution. The Supreme Court has the power to declare a law passed by the legislature
null and void if it infringes upon the fundamental rights.

Functioning of Criminal Courts

Administration of criminal justice is carried out through Magistrate Courts and

Sessions Courts. The hierarchy of criminal courts is given above. The Indian Panel
Code, 1860, together with other penal laws constitutes India's substantive criminal
law. However, it cannot be self-operative. As a sequel to the Indian Penal Code, a
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1861 was enacted. The 1861 Code was repealed after
which a new Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was enacted to carry out the process
of the administration and enforcement of the substantive criminal law. In addition to
the Criminal Procedure Code, the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 was enacted to
prescribe the process of investigation and trial.

The Court at the lowest level is called Judicial Magistrate of the Second Class. This
Court is competent to try the case if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a
term not exceeding one year, or with fine not exceeding five thousand rupees, or with
both. The First Class Magistrate/ Metropolitan Magistrate is competent to try offences
punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or with fine up to
ten thousand rupees. In States such as Kerala, the Second and the First Class
Magistrate Courts have been integrated. The Chief Judicial Magistrate/ Metropolitan
Magistrate can impose any fine and impose punishment up to seven years of
imprisonment. The Assistant Sessions Judge is competent to impose punishments up
to ten years imprisonment and impose any fine. The Sessions Judge can impose any
punishment authorized by law, but the sentence of death passed by him should be
subject to the confirmation by the High Court.

CONCLUSION
In this assignment I would like to conclude that the Constitution and working of the
criminal courts define the structure of how criminal courts in India work. This
structure help us define our judicial structure and stand out to the 4th pillar of
 democratic India. With this well defined structure of Courts this would be have very
difficult for Indian judiciary to administer the Indian Justice system.

BIBLOGRAPHY:
BOOKS
• R.V Kelkar, Criminal Procedure (Eastern Book Company, 7th edn., 2022)
• K.D Gaur, Textbook on Indian Penal Code (Universal & LexisNexis, 7th edn.,
2021)
• M.P Jain, Indian Legal & Constitutional History ( LexisNexis, 7th edn., 2020)

STATUTES

• Indian Constitution
• Criminal Procedure Code 1973
• Indian Penal Code 1860
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