A Magistrate can only ever hold court in one fixed building or town.

The proviso to sub-section (1) clearly allows a Special Judicial Magistrate to hold sittings anywhere within their assigned local area, not just at one location.

Every Magistrate automatically has power over the whole district regardless of any boundary orders.

Sub-section (2) says district-wide jurisdiction only applies by default — if the Chief Judicial Magistrate has defined narrower local limits, those limits control instead.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 12

Local Jurisdiction of Judicial Magistrates

(1) Subject to the control of the High Court, the Chief udicial Magistrate may, from time to time, define the local limits of the areas within which the Magistrates appointed under section 9 or under section 11 may exercise all or any of the powers with which they may respectively be invested under this Sanhita: Provided that the Court of Special Judicial Magistrate may hold its sitting at any place within the local area for which it is established.§

(2) Except as otherwise provided by such definition, the jurisdiction and powers of every such Magistrate shall extend throughout the district.§

(3) Where the local jurisdiction of a Magistrate appointed under section 9 or section 11 extends to an area beyond the district in which he ordinarily holds Court, any reference in this Sanhita to the Court of Session or Chief Judicial Magistrate shall, in relation to such Magistrate, throughout the area within his local jurisdiction, be construed, unless the context otherwise requires, as a reference to the Court of Session or Chief Judicial Magistrate, as the case may be, exercising jurisdiction in relation to the said district.§

Why this exists

Criminal courts need clearly defined territorial boundaries so that cases go to the right Magistrate and there is no confusion about who has authority where. This provision continues a long-standing scheme (carried over from the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973) that lets the High Court, through the Chief Judicial Magistrate, organize magisterial jurisdiction flexibly — allowing adjustments for administrative convenience, workload distribution, or special courts (like Special Judicial Magistrates) that may need to operate across multiple locations.

Common misconceptions

Myth: A Magistrate can only ever hold court in one fixed building or town.
Fact: The proviso to sub-section (1) clearly allows a Special Judicial Magistrate to hold sittings anywhere within their assigned local area, not just at one location.
Myth: Every Magistrate automatically has power over the whole district regardless of any boundary orders.
Fact: Sub-section (2) says district-wide jurisdiction only applies by default — if the Chief Judicial Magistrate has defined narrower local limits, those limits control instead.