Courts of Judicial Magistrates
Section 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with courts of Judicial Magistrates. 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: [Provided that the State The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1974. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(1) In every district (not being a metropolitan area), there shall be established as many Courts of Judicial Magistrates of the first class and of the second class, and at such places, as the State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, by notification, specify:
[Provided that the State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, establish, for any local area, one or more Special Courts of Judicial Magistrates of the first class or of the second class to try any particular case or particular class of cases, and where any such Special Court is established, no other Court of Magistrate in the local area shall have jurisdiction to try any case or class of cases for the trial of which such Special Court of Judicial Magistrate has been established.]
(2) The presiding officers of such Courts shall be appointed by the High Court.
(3) The High Court may, whenever it appears to it to be expedient or necessary, confer the powers of a Judicial Magistrate of the first class or of the second class on any member of the Judicial Service of the State, functioning as a Judge in a Civil Court.
1 Ins. by Act 45 of 1978, s. 3 (w.e.f. 18-12-1978).
Section 11, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 9 Courts of Judicial Magistrates Text carried over almost unchanged 99%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 1
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Haji Mahboob Ahmad vs Kalyan Singh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The Supreme Court of India has the constitutional power under Article 142 to transfer criminal proceedings from one court to another to remedy procedural defects and ensure complete justice, even when the High Court has statutory power under Section 407 of the Criminal Procedure Code to do so. This power can be exercised when crimes that shake the secular fabric of the Constitution have allegedly been committed and the accused persons have not been brought to book largely because of procedural defects and the conduct of the investigating agency. The transfer does not violate Article 21 of the Constitution because the procedure established by law itself contemplates such transfers under Section 407 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and the absence of a non-obstante clause in Section 11(1) proviso of the Criminal Procedure Code distinguishes this case from cases where substantive rights are infringed. Additionally, criminal conspiracy charges already contained in a joint charge sheet cannot be separated from the accused persons by discharging them, and all offences committed in the course of the same transaction to accomplish a conspiracy must be tried jointly.
On this section: Establishment of Special Courts - the Court noted the absence of a non-obstante clause in this section, which distinguishes it from Section 7(1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1952
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… PW1 is the wife of the deceased and the informant of the case. She has levelled no such allegation. Even she was not examined by the investigating officer in respect of this episode of illicit relationship. The investigating officer did not discharge his obligation as stipulated under Section 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to examine a witness and thereafter records statement of the witnesses. Even PW13, the investigating officer of the case has not adduced any evidence that he directed his investigation to this direction. As such, it is extremely difficult to believe the proposition advanced by the …
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… We think that the findings given by the Court below including this Court in the earlier proceedings have attained finality and they cannot be disturbed at this stage by virtue of the fresh petition filed by the appellant herein. 15. The petition filed by the appellant is hit by the principles of resjudicata (Section 11 of the Code of Criminal procedure (CPC)) as well as order II Rule 2, CPC. We think that in the circumstances, the Family Court, Bijapur was right in dismissing the petition filed by the appellant herein and thereby awarding costs to respondent. The judgment and decree of the Family Court would not call for any …
Questions about Section 11
What have the courts held on Section 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Haji Mahboob Ahmad vs Kalyan Singh (19 Apr 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Establishment of Special Courts - the Court noted the absence of a non-obstante clause in this section, which distinguishes it from Section 7(1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1952.
How do I find court cases under Section 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: CRPC 11, section 11 CRPC, section 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Haji Mahboob Ahmad vs Kalyan Singh (19 Apr 2017).
What should I read with Section 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 9 (Courts of Judicial Magistrates), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 11, came into force on 01 Apr 1974, having been enacted on 25 Jan 1974. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 320. Compounding of offences1554 words
- 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty four hours1005 words
- 220. Trial for more than one offence962 words
- 360. Order to release on probation of good conduct or after admonition804 words
- 2. Definitions799 words
- 198. Prosecution for offences against marriage774 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 330a1099-77ad-4a2e-b22a-769b33398f9e). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.