Restriction of trial of offences
Section 13 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 deals with restriction of trial of offences. No Court (other than that of a Magistrate of the first class specially empowered in this behalf by the [appropriate Government] which is inferior to that of a District or Presidency Magistrate shall try any offence under this Act. The Act came into force on 02 Apr 1923.
(1) No Court (other than that of a Magistrate of the first class specially empowered in this behalf by the 1 [appropriate Government] which is inferior to that of a District or Presidency Magistrate shall try any offence under this Act.
(2) If any person under trial before a Magistrate for an offence under this Act at any time before a charge is framed claims to be tried by the Court of Session, the Magistrate shall, if he does not discharge the accused, commit the case for trial by that Court, notwithstan ding that it is not a case exclusively triable by that Court.
(3) No Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act unless upon complaint made by order of, or under authority from, the 2 [appropriate Government] 3 *** or some officer empowered by the 4 [appropriate Government] in this behalf.
5 * * * * *
(4) For the purposes of the trial of a person for an offence under this Act, the offence may be deemed to have been committed either at the place in which the same actually wa s committed or at any place in 6 [India] in which the offender may be found.
7 [(5) In this section, the "appropriate Government" means—
(a) in relation to any offences under section 5 not connected with a prohibited place or with a foreign power, the State Government; and
(b) in relation to any other offence, the Central Government.]
Section 13, The Official Secrets Act, 1923 (Act 19 of 1923).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
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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N.G. Sheth v. CBI
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
DATE-VERIFIED Judgement body 'Date of Decision : 11th July, 2008' matches index Final Order/Judgement 2008-07-11 (order-1.pdf; get_order_markdown date-verified). DB held OSA s.13 normally contemplates Sessions trial; Metropolitan Magistrate (incl. CMM) may try OSA offences only under a live Central Government special empowerment under s.13(1). Once the 21.06.2006 Gazette rescinded the 06.03.1998 CMM empowerment, the CMM lost jurisdiction and pending OSA cases validly stood transferred to the Court of Sessions; accused’s prior oral election to MM trial under s.13 does not survive the procedural rescission. Petitions dismissed.
On this section: Teaches s.13’s trial-court hierarchy: Sessions is the default OSA forum; MM/CMM jurisdiction exists only while a s.13(1) special-empowerment notification is in force, and rescission restores Sessions trial for pending matters.
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.
Questions about Section 13
What have the courts held on Section 13 of the Official Secrets Act?
N.G. Sheth v. CBI (11 Jul 2008) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Teaches s.13’s trial-court hierarchy: Sessions is the default OSA forum; MM/CMM jurisdiction exists only while a s.13(1) special-empowerment notification is in force, and rescission restores Sessions trial for pending matters.
How do I find court cases under Section 13 of the Official Secrets Act?
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: Official Secrets Act 1923 13, section 13 Official Secrets Act 1923, section 13 of the Official Secrets Act. People searching for it also type section 13 official secrets act. 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 N.G. Sheth v. CBI (11 Jul 2008).
What should I read with Section 13 of the Official Secrets Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 5 (Wrongful communication, etc., of information), so none of them can safely be read on its own.
When did Section 13 of the Official Secrets Act come into force?
Section 13 of the Official Secrets Act, cited as Official Secrets Act 1923 13, came into force on 02 Apr 1923, having been enacted on 02 Apr 1923. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 6. Unauthorised use of uniforms; falsification of reports, forgery, personation, and falsedocuments694 words
- 2. Definitions683 words
- 5. Wrongful communication, etc., of information517 words
- 3. Penalties for spying432 words
- 4. Communications with foreign agents to be evidence of commission of certain offences359 words
- 11. Search-warrants278 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. Text as in force on 19 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.