The primary goal of criminal law is to protect society from criminals and lawbreakers. To that end, the law issues punishment threats to potential lawbreakers as well as attempts to make actual offenders suffer the prescribed punishment for their crimes. As a result, criminal law, in its broadest sense, includes both substantive criminal law and procedural criminal law.

Our legal system's criminal law is primarily contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which went into effect on April 1, 1974. The Criminal Procedure Code of 1973 contains 37 Chapters, 484 Sections, and two Schedules. The offenses are classified in the First Schedule, and several forms are included in the Second Schedules.

Criminal Procedure code, 1973 extends to the whole of India.(Section 1 ,Short title ,extent and Commencement) It shall come into force on the 1st day of April 1974.

What is an Offence?
An offence is a transgression of the law, by action or omission. That means there may be some cases where the law requires you to abstain or refrain from performing a particular act. There may also be cases where the law requires you to take a positive action, failing which you may be held liable for the offence.

Civil offences are against private persons (individuals like you and me) but criminal offences are against the State. The State, represented by the Prosecutor, will argue the case against the defendant. So now, the prosecutor will make the case against the suspect, by submitting the issue sheet (pleadings) and the necessary evidence.

Types of Criminal Offences:

Bailable offence and Non-bailable offence
Cognizable and Non-Cognizable offence

Hierarchy of court ( section 6-23)
The setup of criminal courts in India is of 2 types i.e. District and Metropolitan areas.

District

The setup of criminal courts in district areas is at 3 levels: –

At the lower level of the judiciary the courts are called courts of Judicial Magistrate which are of 3 types: –

Judicial magistrate
Judicial magistrate second class
 Special magistrate court
At the middle level of the judiciary, the courts at the sessions level include: –

 Court of sessions
Additional courts of sessions
Assistant courts of sessions
Special courts
At the higher level of the judiciary, there are the High Court and Supreme Court.

Metropolitan areas

The courts at the session’s level are referred to as metropolitan courts and they are of 2 types: – Metropolitan magistrate courts and Special Metropolitan Magistrate

Chief Judicial Magistrate/Chief Metropolitan Magistrate exercises supervisory authority or administrative authority of all the magistrates in sessions/division or metropolitan areas.

Classes of criminal courts

Section 6 of the Cr.P.C provides for the classes of criminal courts in every State apart from the High Courts and the Supreme Court, namely –

Court of Session
Judicial Magistrates of the first class and, Metropolitan  Magistrates in any metropolitan areas
 Judicial Magistrates of the second class; and
 Executive Magistrates
Hierarchy of Criminal Courts

The hierarchy of the Criminal Courts in India can be understood through the following chart:

The Supreme Court of India – The Supreme Court Of India being the apex court of India was established under Article 124 of the Constitution of India.

The High Courts –  Article 141  of the Constitution Of India governs the High Courts and the High Courts are bound by the judgment of the Apex Court.

Lower Courts of India have been classified as follows: 

Metropolitan Courts 

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
First Class Metropolitan Magistrate
District Courts

Sessions Court
First Class Judicial Magistrate
Second Class Judicial Magistrate
Executive Magistrate
Separation of Judiciary from the Executive

The Code under Section 3(4) separates the judiciary from the executive and states that, subject to the provisions of the Code:

Judicial Magistrate shall exercise the functions relating to matters in which appreciation or shifting of evidence is involved or which involve the formulation of any decision by which any person is exposed to a penalty or punishment or detention in custody, inquiry or trial.
Executive Magistrate shall exercise the functions regarding the matters which are executive or administrative in nature, for example, the granting or suspension or cancellation of a license, withdrawing from prosecution or sanctioning a prosecution.

Police as functionary (sec 36)
There is no provision in the code that creates the police or police officers. It assumes the existence of police and arms them with various responsibilities and powers.

Organisation 

The Police Act, 1861 establishes the police force. The Act says that “the police force is an instrument for the detection of crime and its prevention.” The Director-General of Police is vested with the overall administration of police in an entire state, however, in a district, under the general control and directions of District Magistrate, administration of police is done by DSP (District Superintendent of Police).

A certificate is provided to every police officer and by virtue of such certificate, he is vested with the functions, privileges and powers of a police officer. Such certificate will cease to be in effect once he/she is no longer a police officer.

The Code confers upon the police officers certain powers such as the power to investigate, search and seizure, make an arrest and investigate the members enrolled as police officers. Extensive powers are conferred to the officer in charge of a police station.

Public prosecutor (section 24 to 25 A)
A Public Prosecutor is considered as the agent of the state to represent the interest of common people in the criminal justice system. The prosecution of the accused is the duty of the state but not individually the duty of the aggrieved party. They are appointed in almost all countries. The Public Prosecutor is defined in Section 24 of Cr.P.C. They serve as the basic principle of Rule of Law i.e. auld alteram partem (no person shall be condemned unheard).

Section 2(u) of the Code of Criminal Procedure defines Public Prosecutor. “A person who is appointed under Section 24 of CrPC and it also includes any person who is acting under the directions of the Public Prosecutor.

Functions

The functions of the Public Prosecutor differ according to their designation.

Public Prosecutor- supervise the function exercised by the Additional Public Prosecutor in Session Court and High Court.
Chief Prosecutor- supervise the functions exercised by Assistant Public Prosecutor in Metropolitan Magistrate Court.
Additional Prosecutor- conduct criminal proceedings in the Session Court.
Assistant Public Prosecutor- they examine the charge sheet prepared by agencies and submit the acquittal or discharge. They also are responsible for the evaluation of evidence and filing revisions petitions. They also conduct the criminal proceedings in the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate.
Director of Prosecution- it is the head office. They exercise the overall control and supervision of officers of Directorate. They also look after the Account Branches.
The objective of establishing a Directorate of Public Prosecutors is to supervise and scrutinise the functions relating to various prosecution agencies at Assistant Session level and Session level except at High Court.

Reasons for the Appointment of Public Prosecutor

Whenever any crime is committed against a group or individual, it is assumed that it has been committed against society. It is the duty of the state to provide justice to any group of society or person who is affected by the crime. In India, it is necessary that the criminal justice system should function within the limits of the Indian Constitution, which means that it is necessary for the Public Prosecutor to act in accordance with the principles of:

Equality before law
Protection against double jeopardy
Protection against self-incrimination
Protection against ex-post law
Right to life and personal liberty except procedure established by law
Presumption of innocence until proven guilty
Arrest and detention must be in accordance with the provisions of Cr.P.C.
Equal protection of laws
Speedy trial
Prohibition of discrimination
Right of accused to remain silent

Defence council as a functionary
In most of the cases an accused person is a layman and is not aware of the technicalities of law, therefore, as per Section 303, an accused person shall have a right to be defended by a counsel of his own choice. As the accused or his family employs the pleader to defend the accused against the alleged charges, such a pleader is not a government employee. For ensuring a just and fair trial it is essential that a qualified legal practitioner presents the matter on behalf of the accused. Therefore, Section 304 provides that if the accused does not have sufficient means to hire a counsel, a pleader shall be assigned to him by the court at the state’s expense. There are various schemes through which an accused who does not have sufficient means to hire a pleader can get free legal aid, such as the Legal Aid Scheme of State, Legal Aid and Service Board, Supreme Court Senior Advocates Free Legal Aid society and Bar Association. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides needy people with free legal aid.

Basic concepts and definition

Bailable and non-bailable offences [2(a)]
Bailable offence is one where the defendant (the one who is defending himself in a criminal case) may be able to secure his release upon the payment of bail. These are the cases where the grant of bail is a matter of course and right. If a person is held under a non-bailable presence, he cannot claim the grant of bail as a matter of right. But the law gives special consideration in favor of granting bail where the accused is under sixteen, a woman, sick or in?rm, or if the court is satisfied that it is just and proper for any other special reason to give rather than refuse bail.

Cognizable and non-cognizable offences (154)
Offences can be categorized into various types, but we will particularly focus on two : Cognizable Offences and Non-cognizable Offences. Under Cr.P.C., Cognizable Offence is discussed under Section 154. Section 2(c) of Cr.P.C. defines it to be an offence in which the police officer can arrest the convict without a warrant and can start investigation without the due permission of the court. These are the offences that are usually very serious and generally heinous in nature. For example: Rape, murder, kidnapping, dowry death etc. All cognizable offences are non-bailable due to their serious and heinous nature. Section 2(1) of Cr.P.C. defines Non-cognizable Offence. It refers to it as an offence for which a police officer has no authority to arrest without a warrant. These are the offences that are not serious or usually petty in nature. For example: assault, cheating, forgery, defamation etc. Non-cognizable offences are usually bailable because of their non serious nature.

Section 154

Information in cognizable cases.

Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction, and be read over to the informant; and every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf.
A copy of the information as recorded under sub-section (1) shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant.
Any person aggrieved by a refusal on the part of an officer in charge of a police station to record the information referred to in subsection (1) may send the substance of such information, in writing and by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned who, if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, shall either investigate the case himself or direct an investigation to be made by any police officer subordinate to him, in the manner provided by this Code, and such officer shall have all the powers of an officer in charge of the police station in relation to that offence.
With reference to the particular section, an officer can register an F.I.R. and take cognizance of and arrest a suspect without seeking court’s prior approval. If she/he has a “reason to believe” that a person has committed the offence and is satisfied that arrest is a necessary step. Then within 24 hours of arrest, the officer must get the detention ratified by the concerned judicial magistrate. Police officers also have a chance to conduct a preliminary investigation before registering the F.I.R. to cross check the facts but the liability lies totally upon him for the same. This is because if the Police Officer doesn’t register an F.I.R. at the moment the information is received, and there is any mishappening because he was not sure of the serious offence like murder taking place and someone loses his life will be a careless mistake.

Charge [2(b)]
Section 2(b) of the Criminal Procedure Code defines charge as any head of a charge when the charge contains more heads than one. The legal definition mentioned in the code is not inclusive enough for a layman to decipher. However, the definition could simply be interpreted to mean as an “accusation”. It is the concrete accusation as recognised by the Magistrate or the Court, based on the prima facie evidence adduced against the accused. Purpose of Charge

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, an accused should be informed of the offence of which he is charged. The basic purpose of the charge is to let the accused know of the offence that he is charged with so that he can prepare his defence. The accused should be informed of the charge against him at the very beginning. Every accused has the right to know what the prosecution has against him. The underlying principle of the criminal law on informing the accused of the charge against him is to provide an equal opportunity to each and every individual to prepare his defence and avail justice. It must be noted that in case of serious offences, the statute requires the charge to be reduced to writing precisely and clearly and must be read to the accused and explained with precision and clarity.

Police report [173(2)]
Section 2(r) of CrPC talks about the expression ‘police report’, according to which a report is forwarded by a police officer to a Magistrate under Section 173(2). The report should be in the manner that is prescribed by the State Government as per the particulars mentioned in clause (a) to (g) of sub-section(2) of Section 173. The police report submitted under this section is called the End Report. If this report constitutes an attempt of a crime by an accused person, that report is commonly called the “charge-sheet” or the “challan”.

Investigation [2(h)]
The term ‘investigation’ has been defined in Section 2(h) of the Code of Criminal procedure, Investigation includes all the proceedings under this Code for the collection of evidence conducted by a police officer or by any person (other than a Magistrate) who is authorised by a Magistrate in this behalf.

Inquiry [2(g)]
We can observe that often people get perplexed regarding the usage of inquiry and enquiry which I will clear under this article; Enquiry means to ask a question, and inquiry is a formal investigation, enquiry though follows under the same page but has a level of difference in them. As discussed above, the inquiry is the process of seeking information from a person who might give some relevant information about the matter in question. Inquiry is defined under Section 2(g) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 referring to any inquiry other than trial under this code, conducted by a Magistrate or a Court. 

Code of Criminal Procedure - Provisions

This Code addresses the following:
Prevention of offenses (Sections 106-124, 129-132, and 144-153)
Maintenance of wives, children, and parents (Sections 125- 128)
Public nuisances(Sections 133- 143).
The High Court has inherent powers, which have been partially legislated by enacting Section 482 of this Code.
If the Court determines that the Code does not make specific provisions to meet the exigencies of any situation, the court of law has inherent power to shape the procedure to allow it to pass such orders as the ends of justice may require.
Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973 (CrPC) gives an Executive Magistrate the authority to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger.
Sections 397 to 405 of the Code contain provisions relating to the revisionary jurisdiction granted to the higher courts and the procedure by which the higher courts exercise this jurisdiction.

Examples
Code of Criminal Procedure - Examples
As the world witnessed the emergence of a pandemic caused by the novel COVID19 virus, quarantine and lockdowns became the norm.
Several states enacted Section 144 in an effort to halt the virus's spread.
British v. State of Maharashtra & Ors., (2002), the Supreme Court held that:
The preliminary inquiry procedure contemplated by Section 340 CrPC is not intended to determine the guilt or innocence of the party against whom proceedings are to be taken before the Magistrate.
The scope of such a proceeding is limited to determining whether an inquiry is necessary for the interest of justice based on the material available.

Code of Criminal Procedure - Limitations

The current system has been plagued by a variety of maladies, resulting in a wide performance gap on a consistent basis. When we examine the flaws in the current criminal justice system, we notice the following:
accused-oriented system;
faulty and sloppy investigation;
time-consuming legal process;
lack of coordination between police and prosecution;
overcrowding in jails and other facilities;
the dominance of money and power;
unholy nexus between criminal syndicates, politicians, and law officials;
victim-ignorance;
systemic corruption.
Section 144 is frequently criticized for a variety of reasons.
It is believed that the powers granted to the Executive Magistrate under the Section, which is entirely discretionary, can be used arbitrarily and with mala fide intentions.
It has also been accused of being used by the state to curbdissent and prevent protests.
In recent times, there has also been criticism leveled at the widespread blocking of internet access, and questions have been raised about how legally viable this is.

Conclusion

In its natural state, the criminal procedure code is not entirely procedural law. It is a hybrid of adjective and substantive law. The majority of the code is procedural law, but it also contains some substantive law, no matter how minor.