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Wednesday, 11 November 2026 Judgments, law jobs and study notes, written by a practising advocate
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter II: Constitution Of Criminal Courts And Offices

Section 14 BNSS: Executive Magistrates

Corresponding CrPC
Section 20 CrPC

Bare Act text

(1) In every district, the State Government may appoint as many persons as itthinks fit to be Executive Magistrates and shall appoint one of them to be the District Magistrate.

(2) The State Government may appoint any Executive Magistrate to be an Additional District Magistrate, and such Magistrate shall have such of the powers of a District Magistrate under this Sanhita or under any other law for the time being in force as may be directed by the State Government.

(3) Whenever, in consequence of the office of a District Magistrate becoming vacant, any officer succeeds temporarily to the executive administration of the district, such officer shall, pending the orders of the State Government, exercise all the powers and perform all the duties respectively conferred and imposed by this Sanhita on the District Magistrate.

(4) The State Government may place an Executive Magistrate in charge of a sub-division and may relieve him of the charge as occasion requires; and the Magistrate so placed in charge of a sub-division shall be called the Sub-divisional Magistrate.

(5) The State Government may, by general or special order and subject to such control and directions as it may deem fit to impose, delegate its powers under sub-section (4) to the District Magistrate.

(6) Nothing in this section shall preclude the State Government from conferring, under any law for the time being in force, on a Commissioner of Police all or any of the powers of an Executive Magistrate.

Text as enacted in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 46 of 2023), in force from 1 July 2024. Source: India Code, Government of India.

In simple words

Provides for the State Government to appoint Executive Magistrates in every district, one of whom is the District Magistrate. It may appoint an Additional District Magistrate with such of the District Magistrate's powers as it directs, and deals with who exercises those powers when the District Magistrate's office falls vacant.

Chapter II: Constitution Of Criminal Courts And Offices

  1. 6 Classes of Criminal Courts
  2. 7 Territorial divisions
  3. 8 Court of Session
  4. 9 Courts of Judicial Magistrates
  5. 10 Chief Judicial Magistrate and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, etc
  6. 11 Special Judicial Magistrates
  7. 12 Local Jurisdiction of Judicial Magistrates
  8. 13 Subordination of Judicial Magistrates
  9. 14 Executive Magistrates
  10. 15 Special Executive Magistrates
  11. 16 Local Jurisdiction of Executive
  12. 17 Subordination of Executive Magistrates
  13. 18 Public Prosecutors
  14. 19 Assistant Public Prosecutors
  15. 20 Directorate of Prosecution