Classification of Criminal Courts

Before you can understand trials, appeals, or bail, you must understand where these procedures happen. Section 6 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 provides the structural skeleton for the entire Indian criminal justice system at the state level.

The most significant takeaway for law students? The BNSS has massively simplified the hierarchy compared to the old CrPC.

1. The Four Classes of Courts

Besides the High Courts (and courts constituted under any other special law), every State shall have the following classes of Criminal Courts:

1. Courts of Session: The highest criminal court within a district, presided over by a Sessions Judge appointed by the High Court. They handle heinous crimes (e.g., Murder, Rape).
2. Judicial Magistrates of the First Class (JMFC): The core trial courts for standard offences.
3. Judicial Magistrates of the Second Class (JMSC): Handle less severe, minor offences.
4. Executive Magistrates: Administrative officers (like the District Magistrate, ADM, or SDM) who primarily exercise preventive and peace-keeping powers under Chapter VIII, rather than conducting regular criminal trials.

2. The Major Shifts (CrPC vs. BNSS)

If you are transitioning your knowledge from the CrPC, you must unlearn two major structural concepts:

• No More “Metropolitan” Distinction: Under the CrPC, cities with a population over one million had “Metropolitan Magistrates.” The BNSS has completely abolished this distinction. Whether a crime happens in Mumbai or a rural village, the trial courts are now uniformly classified as JMFC or JMSC.
• Abolition of Assistant Sessions Judges: The BNSS has removed the post of Assistant Sessions Judge. The Sessions tier now simply consists of the Sessions Judge and Additional Sessions Judges.

3. Visualizing the Court Hierarchy

flowchart TD
    A["Supreme Court of India"] --> B["High Court (State Level)"]
    B --> C["Court of Session (District Level)"]
    
    C --> D["Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM)"]
    D --> E["Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC)"]
    E --> F["Judicial Magistrate Second Class (JMSC)"]

Sentencing Powers of Criminal Courts (Sections 21-25 BNSS)

Understanding which court can try an offence (Section 21) is only half the battle. The real practical application—and a guaranteed exam question—is knowing how much punishment a specific Judge or Magistrate is legally authorized to inflict.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, has substantially upgraded the financial jurisdiction of Magistrates to reflect modern economic realities and officially codified “Community Service” as a legal punishment.

1. Courts by Which Offences are Triable (Section 21)

According to Section 21, offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) can be tried by:

1. The High Court
2. The Court of Session
3. Any other Court specified in the First Schedule.

The “Mandatory Proviso” for Women: A critical update in the BNSS is that offences related to rape and sexual crimes (Sections 64 to 71 of the BNS) shall be tried, as far as practicable, by a Court presided over by a woman.

2. The Sentencing Power Chart (Sections 22 & 23)

This table is your ultimate cheat sheet for exams. Memorize these limits, as exceeding them is a common ground for appeal.

3. The Big Changes: Community Service & Consecutive Sentences

If you are transitioning from the CrPC, pay close attention to these two shifts:

• Community Service (Section 23): The BNSS officially defines community service as unpaid work that benefits the community. JMFCs and JMSCs can now order this as a substantive punishment for petty offences.
• Consecutive Sentences Cap (Section 25): When a person is convicted of multiple offences at one trial, the court can run the sentences consecutively. However, the maximum cap for aggregate consecutive sentences has been increased from 14 years (under CrPC) to 20 years under the BNSS.