Section 6

India's criminal justice system needs a clear hierarchy of courts so that cases of different seriousness go to the right level of judge, and so that administrative functions (like maintaining public order) are kept separate from judicial trial functions. This structure continues a long-standing framework from the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, carried forward into the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, with Executive Magistrates kept distinct from Judicial Magistrates to preserve separation of powers between the executive and judiciary, a principle emphasized in Indian constitutional design.

Courts have historically read the equivalent provision in the CrPC (Section 6) as setting out an exhaustive, mandatory hierarchy of criminal courts within each state, distinct from High Courts and special tribunals. Judgments interpreting the CrPC have stressed that Executive Magistrates perform administrative and law-and-order functions, not judicial adjudication, reinforcing the constitutional principle of separating the judiciary from the executive at the magisterial level.

• Myth: Executive Magistrates can decide if someone is guilty of a crime.
  Fact: Executive Magistrates handle administrative and public-order matters; they do not conduct criminal trials or decide guilt, which is the job of Judicial Magistrates and Courts of Session.
• Myth: This section covers all courts in India, including High Courts.
  Fact: The section specifically excludes High Courts and courts created under other special laws, focusing only on the criminal court hierarchy under this Sanhita.