9.Designated Courts – (1) The Central Government or a State Government may, by notification
in the official Gazette, constitute one or more Designated Courts for such area or areas, or for
such case or class or group of cases as may be specified in the notification.
(2) Where a notification constituting a Designated Court for any area or areas or for any case or
class or group of cases is issued by the Central Government under sub-section (1), and a
notification constituting a Designated Court for the same area or areas or for the same case or
class or group of cases has also been issued by a State Government under that sub-section, the
Designated Court constituted by the Central Government, whether the notification constituting
such Court is issued before or after the issue of the notification constituting the Designated Court
by the State Government, shall have, and the Designated Court constituted by the State
Government shall not have, jurisdiction to try any offence committed in that area or areas or, as
the case may be, the case or class or group of cases, and all cases pending before any Designated
Court constituted by the State Government shall stand transferred to the Designated Court
constituted by the Central Government.
(3) Where any question arises as to the jurisdiction of any Designated Court, it shall be referred
to the Central Government whose decision thereon shall be final.
(4) A Designated Court shall be presided over by a Judge to be appointed by the Central
Government or, as the case may be, the State Government, with the concurrence of the Chief
Justice of the High Court.
(5) The Central Government or, as the case may be, the State Government may also appoint,
with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court additional Judges to exercise
jurisdiction in a Designated Court.
(6) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge or an additional Judge of a
Designated Court unless he is, immediately before such appointment a Sessions Judge or an
additional Sessions Judge in any State.
(7) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby provided that the attainment by a person appointed a
judge or an Additional Judge of a Designated Court of the age of superannuation under the rules
applicable to him in the service to which he belongs, shall not affect his continuance as such
Judge or Additional Judge.
(8) Where any Additional Judge or Additional Judges is or are appointed in a Designated Court,
the Judge of the Designated Court may, from time to time, by general or special order, in writing,
provide for the distribution of business of the Designated Court among himself and the additional
Judge or Additional Judges and also for the disposal of urgent business in the event of his
absence or the absence of any Additional Judge.
10. Place of sitting – A Designated Court may, on its own motion or on an application made by
the Public Prosecutor, and if it considers it expedient or desirable so to do, sit for any of its
proceedings at any place, other than its ordinary place of sitting :
Provided that nothing in this section shall be construed to change the place of sitting of a
Designated Court constituted by a State Government to any place outside that State.
11.Jurisdiction of Designated Courts. – (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code,
every offence punishable under any provision of this Act or any rule made thereunder shall be
triable only by the Designated Court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed or, as the
case may be, by the Designated Court constituted for trying such offence under sub-section (1) of
Section 9.
(2) If, having regard to the exigencies of the situation prevailing in a State, the Central
Government is of the opinion that, -
(a) the situation prevailing in such State is not conducive to a fair, impartial or speedy trial, or
(b) it is not likely to be feasible without occasioning the breach of peace or grave risk to the
safety of the accused, the witnesses, the Public Prosecutor and the Judge of the Designated Court
or any of them, or
(c) it is not otherwise in the interests of justice,
It may, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of India (such occurrence to be obtained on a
motion moved in that behalf by the Attorney-General), transfer any case pending before a
Designated Court in that State to any other Designated Court within that State or in any other
State.
(3) Where the whole or any part of the area within the local limits of the jurisdiction of a
Designated Court has been declared to be, or forms part of, any area which has been declared to
be a disturbed area under any enactment for the time being in force making provision for the
suppression of disorder and restoration and maintenance of public order, and the Central
Government is of opinion that the situation prevailing in the State is not conducive to fair,
impartial or speedy trial within the State, of offences under this Act or the rules made thereunder
which such Designated Court is competent to try, the Central Government may, with the
concurrence of the Chief Justice of India, specify, by notification in the official Gazette, in
relation to such Court (hereafter in this sub-section referred to as the local Court) a Designated
Court outside the State (hereinafter in this section referred to as the specified court), and
thereupon, -
1. it shall not be competent at any time during the period of operation of such notification, for
such local court to exercise any jurisdiction in respect of, or try, any offence under this Act or
the rules made thereunder;
2. the jurisdiction which would have been, but for the issue of such notification, exercisable by
such local court in respect of such offences committed during the period of operation of such
notification shall be exercisable by the specified court;
3. all cases relating to such offences pending immediately before the date of issue of such
notification before such local court shall stand transferred on that date to the specified court;
4. all cases taken cognizance of by, or transferred to, the specified court under Clause (b) or
Clause (c) shall be dealt with and tried in accordance with this Act (whether during the period of
operation of such notification or thereafter) as if such offences had been committed within the
local limits of the jurisdiction of the specified court or, as the case may be, transferred for trial
to it under sub-section (2).
Explanation 1.- A notification under this sub-section in relation to any local court shall cease to
operate on the date on which the whole or, as the case may be, the aforementioned part of the
area within the local limits of its jurisdiction, ceases to be a disturbed area.
Explanation 2. - For the purposes of this section, "Attorney-General" means the AttorneyGeneral of India or, in his absence, the Solicitor-General of India or, in the absence of both, one
of the Additional Solicitors-General of India.
12. Power of Designated Courts with respect to other offences.- (1) When trying any offence,
a Designated Court may also try any other offence with which the accused may, under the Code,
be charged at the same trial if the offence is connected with such other offence.
(2) If, in the course of any trial under this Act of any offence, it is found that the accused person
has committed any other offence under this Act or any rule made thereunder or under any other
law, a the Designated Court may convict such person of such other offence and pass any
sentence authorised by this Act or such rule or, as the case may be, such other law, for the
punishment thereof.
13. Public Prosecutors - (1) For every Designated Court, the Central Government or, as the case
may be, the State Government, shall appoint a person to be the Public Prosecutor and may
appoint one or more persons to be the Additional Public Prosecutor or Additional Public
Prosecutors;
provided that the Central Government or, as the case may be, the State Government, may also
appoint for any case or class or group of cases a Special Public Prosecutor.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public
Prosecutor or a Special Public Prosecutor under this section unless he has been in practice as an
Advocate for not less than seven years or has held any post, for a period of not less than seven
years, under the Union or a State, requiring special knowledge of law.
(3) Every person appointed as a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor or a
Special Public Prosecutor under this section shall be deemed to be a Public Prosecutor within the
meaning of clause (u) of Section 2 of the Code and the provisions of the Code shall have effect
accordingly.
14. Procedure and powers of Designated Courts.- A Designated Court may take cognizance
of any offence, without the accused being committed to it for trial, upon receiving a
complaint of facts which constitute such offence or upon a police report of such facts.
(2) Where an offence triable by a Designated Court is punishable with imprisonment for a term
not exceeding three years or with fine or with both, the Designated Court may, notwithstanding
anything contained in sub-section (1) of Section 260 or Section 262 of the Code, try the offence
in a summary way in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Code and the provisions of
Section 263 to 265 of the Code, shall, so far as may be, apply to such trial:
Provided that when, in the course of a summary trial under this sub-section, it appears to the
Designated Court that the nature of the case is such that it is undesirable to try it in a summary
way, the Designated Court shall recall any witnesses who may have been examined and proceed
to re-hear the case in the manner provided by the provisions of the Code for the trial of such
offence and the said provisions shall apply to and in relation to a Designated Court as they apply
to and in relation to a Magistrate:
Provided further that in the case of any conviction in a summary trial under this section, it shall
be lawful for a Designated Court to pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
two years.
(3) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a Designated Court shall, for the purpose of trial
of any offence, have all the powers of a Court of Session and shall try such offence as if it were a
Court of Session so far as may be in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Code for
the trial before a Court of Session.
(4) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, every case transferred to a Designated Court under
sub-section (2) of Section 11 shall be dealt with as if such case had been transferred under
Section 406 of the Code to such Designated Court.
(5) Nothwithstanding anything contained in the Code, a Designated Court may, if it thinks fit and
for reasons to be recorded by it, proceed with the trial in the absence of the accused or his
pleader and record the evidence of any witness, subject to the right of the accused to recall the
witness for cross-examination.
15. Certain confessions made to police officers to be taken into consideration.- (1)
Nothwithstanding anything in the Code or in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, but subject to the
provisions of this section, a confession made by a person before a police officer not lower in rank
than a Superintendent of Police and recorded by such police officer either in writing or on any
mechanical device like cassettes, tapes or sound tracks from out of which sounds or images can
be reproduced, shall be admissible in the trial of such person [or co-accused, abettor or
conspirator] for an offence under this Act or rules made thereunder:
7 [Provided that co-accused, abettor or conspirator is charged and tried in the same case together
with the accused].
(2) The police officer shall, before recording any confession under sub-section (1), explain to the
person making it that he is not bound to make a confession and that, if he does so, it may be used
as evidence against him and such police officer shall not record any such confession unless upon
questioning the person making it, he has reason to believe that it is being made voluntarily.
16 . Protection of witnesses.-[(1) Nothwithstanding anything contained in the Code, the
proceedings under this Act may be held in camera if the Designated Court so desires.]
(2) A Designated Court may, on an application made by a witness in any proceedings before it or
by the Public Prosecutor in relation to such witness or on its own motion, take such measures as
it deems fit for keeping the identity and address of any witness secret.
(3) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (2), the
measures which a Designated Court may take under that sub-section may include,-
1. the holding of the proceedings at a place to be decided by the Designated Court;
2. the avoiding of the mention of the names and addresses of the witnesses in it orders or
judgments or in any records of the case accessible to public;
3. the issuing of any directions for securing that the identity and addresses of the
witnesses are not disclosed.
4. that it is in the public interest to order that all or any of the proceedings pending before
such a court shall not be published in any manner.
(4) Any person who contravenes any direction issued under sub-section (3) shall be punishable
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and with fine which may extend to
one thousand rupees.
17.Trial by Designated Courts to have precedence- The trial under this Act of any offence by
a Designated Court shall have precedence over the trial of any other case against the accused in
any other court (not being a Designated Court) and shall be concluded in preference to the trial
of such other case and accordingly the trial of such other case shall remain in abeyance.
18.Power to transfer cases to regular courts- Where, after taking cognizance of any offence, a
Designated Court is of opinion that the offence is not triable by it, it shall, notwithstanding that it
has no jurisdiction to try such offence, transfer the case for the trial of such offence to any court
having jurisdiction under the Code and the court to which the case is transferred may proceed
with the trial of the offence as if it had taken cognizance of the offence.
19.Appeal- (1) Nothwithstanding anything contained in the Code, an appeal shall lie as a matter
of right from any judgment, sentence or order, not being an interlocutory order, of a Designated
Court to the Supreme Court both on facts and on law.
(2) Except as aforesaid, no appeal or revision shall lie to any court from any judgment, sentence
or order including an interlocutory order of a Designated Court.
(3) Every appeal under this section shall be preferred within a period of thirty days from the date
of the judgment; sentence or order appealed from:
Provided that the Supreme Court may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of
thirty days if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal
within the period of thirty days.