Can a court of an Additional Sessions Judge take direct cognizance of an offence? If so, under what provision of Law.

Question: Can a court of an Additional Sessions Judge take direct cognizance of an offence? If so, under what provision of Law. [RJS 1986]

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Answer

As per Section 400 of CrPC,

“an Additional Sessions Judge shall have and may exercise all the powers of a Sessions Judge under this Chapter in respect of any case which may be transferred to him by or under any general or special order of the Sessions Judge.”

Further, Section 193 CrPC reads as under:

“Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Code or by any other law for the time being in force, no Court of Session shall take cognizance of any offence as a Court of original jurisdiction unless the accused has been committed to it by a Magistrate duly empowered in that behalf”;

A Court of Session under the Criminal Procedure Code can only take cognizance under Section 193 of the Criminal Procedure Code which provides that no Court of Session shall take cognizance of any offence as a court of original jurisdiction unless the accused has been committed by Magistrate and of course, unless otherwise provided by the Code or any other law for the time being in force.

Section 193 of the Code forbids Courts of Session to take cognizance of offences as Courts of Original Jurisdiction except upon commitment made by Magistrates duly-empowered on that behalf. That bar is lifted by Section 5(1) of the Act, and the Special Court is empowered to take direct cognizance, despite the provision that it is deemed to be a Court of Session trying cases without a jury. The governing idea of the sub-section is the removal of the bar to direct cognizance which results in contrasting Special Courts with Courts of Session, Thus viewed, the sub-section is not primarily a provision relating to the taking of cognizance of offences by Special Courts.

Section 194 gives the Sessions Judge the power of distribution of business among Additional and Assistant Sessions Judges to try cases made over to them. It states:

“An Additional Sessions Judge or Assistant Sessions Judge shall try such cases as the Sessions Judge of the division may, by general or special order, makeover to him for trial or as the High Court may, by special order, direct him to try.”

As explained in the case of Ajit Kumar Palit v. The State AIR 1961 Cal 560, when a Sessions Judge takes cognizance on commitment, he must try the accused committed to his Court or transfer the case for hearing to an Additional or Assistant Sessions Judge; he cannot dismiss the case without holding a trial, and his power as a Court of original jurisdiction is limited to the persons committed to his Court for trial. In view of the same, it is reasonable to conclude that taking of cognizance by a Sessions Court under Section 193 CrPC means only having jurisdiction to try the case committed in accordance with the prescribed procedure or to transfer it to an Additional Sessions Judge or an Assistant Sessions Judge.

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