State governments can appoint or transfer Magistrates on their own.

The section makes clear that only the High Court appoints the presiding officers of these courts, even though the state government decides where the courts are located.

Special Courts and regular Magistrate Courts can both handle the same case.

Once a Special Court is set up for a particular type of case, no other magistrate court in that area has jurisdiction over those cases.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 9

Courts of Judicial Magistrates

(1) In every district 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.§

Why this exists

This provision continues the long-standing structure from the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure, ensuring that criminal trial courts exist at the local level in every district. It balances power between the executive (state government, which funds and locates courts) and the judiciary (High Court, which controls appointments), reflecting the constitutional principle of separating judicial administration from executive control, especially after the landmark push for separation of judiciary from executive in India.

Common misconceptions

Myth: State governments can appoint or transfer Magistrates on their own.
Fact: The section makes clear that only the High Court appoints the presiding officers of these courts, even though the state government decides where the courts are located.
Myth: Special Courts and regular Magistrate Courts can both handle the same case.
Fact: Once a Special Court is set up for a particular type of case, no other magistrate court in that area has jurisdiction over those cases.