Section 20 BNSS| Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS)
Directorate of Prosecution.
(1) The State Government may establish,—
(a) a Directorate of Prosecution in the State consisting of a Director of Prosecution and as many Deputy Directors of Prosecution as it think fit; and
(b) District Directorate of Prosecution in every district consisting of as many Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors of Prosecution, as it thinks fit.
(2) A person shall be eligible to be appointed,—
(a) as a Director of Prosecution or a Deputy Director of Prosecution, if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than fifteen years or is or has been a Sessions Judge;
(b) as an Assistant Director of Prosecution if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years or has been a Magistrate of the first class.
(3) The Directorate of Prosecution shall be headed by the Director of Prosecution, who shall function under the administrative control of the Home Department in the State.
(4) Every Deputy Director of Prosecution or Assistant Director of Prosecution shall be subordinate to the Director of Prosecution; and every Assistant Director of Prosecution shall be subordinate to the Deputy Director of Prosecution.
(5) Every Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor and Special Public Prosecutor appointed by the State Government under sub-section (1), or sub-section (8), of section 18 to conduct cases in the High Court shall be subordinate to the Director of Prosecution.
(6) Every Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor and Special Public Prosecutor appointed by the State Government under sub-section (3) or sub-section (8) of section 18 to conduct cases in District Courts and every Assistant Public Prosecutor appointed under sub-section (1) of section 19 shall be subordinate to the Deputy Director of Prosecution or the Assistant Director of Prosecution.
(7) The powers and functions of the Director of Prosecution shall be to monitor cases in which offences are punishable for ten years or more, or with life imprisonment, or with death; to expedite the proceedings and to give opinion on filing of appeals.
(8) The powers and functions of the Deputy Director of Prosecution shall be to examine and scrutinise police report and monitor the cases in which offences are punishable for seven years or more, but less than ten years, for ensuring their expeditious disposal.
(9) The functions of the Assistant Director of Prosecution shall be to monitor cases in which offences are punishable for less than seven years.
(10) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (7), (8) and (9), the Director, Deputy Director or Assistant Director of Prosecution shall have the power to deal with and be responsible for all proceedings under this Sanhita.
(11) The other powers and functions of the Director of Prosecution, Deputy Directors of Prosecution and Assistant Directors of Prosecution and the areas for which each of the Deputy Directors of Prosecution or Assistant Directors of Prosecution have been appointed shall be such as the State Government may, by notification, specify.
(12) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the Advocate General for the State while performing the functions of a Public Prosecutor.
CHAPTER III POWER OF COURTS
Section 21 BNSS| Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS):
Courts by which offences are triable.
Subject to the other provisions of this Sanhita-
(a) any offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 may be tried by—
(i) the High Court; or
(ii) the Court of Session; or
(iii) any other Court by which such offence is shown in the First Schedule to be triable:
Provided that any offence under section 64, section 65, section 66, section 67, section 68, section 69, section 70 or section 71 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 shall be tried as far as practicable by a Court presided over by a woman;
(b) any offence under any other law shall, when any Court is mentioned in this behalf in such law, be tried by such Court and when no Court is so mentioned, may be tried by—
(i) the High Court; or
(ii) any other Court by which such offence is shown in the First Schedule to be triable.
Section 22 BNSS| Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS):
Sentences which High Courts and Sessions Judges may pass.
(1) A High Court may pass any sentence authorised by law.
(2) A Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge may pass any sentence authorised by law; but any sentence of death passed by any such Judge shall be subject to confirmation by the High Court.
Section 23 BNSS| Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS):
Sentences which Magistrates may pass.
 (1) The Court of a Chief Judicial Magistrate may pass any sentence authorised by law except a sentence of death or of imprisonment for life or of imprisonment for a term exceeding seven years.
(2) The Court of a Magistrate of the first class may pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or of fine not exceeding fifty thousand rupees, or of both, or of community service.
(3) The Court of Magistrate of the second class may pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or of fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees, or of both, or of community service.
Explanation.—"Community service" shall mean the work which the Court may order a convict to perform as a form of punishment that benefits the community, for which he shall not be entitled to any remuneration.
Section 24 BNSS| Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bare Act:
Sentence of imprisonment in default of fine.
(1) The Court of a Magistrate may award such term of imprisonment in default of payment of fine as is authorised by law:
Provided that the term—
(a) is not in excess of the powers of the Magistrate under section 23;
(b) shall not, where imprisonment has been awarded as part of the substantive sentence, exceed one-fourth of the term of imprisonment which the Magistrate is competent to inflict as punishment for the offence otherwise than as imprisonment in default of payment of the fine.
(2) The imprisonment awarded under this section may be in addition to a substantive sentence of imprisonment for the maximum term awardable by the Magistrate under section 23.
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Section 25 BNSS| Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS):
Sentence in cases of conviction of several offences at one trial.
(1) When a person is convicted at one trial of two or more offences, the Court may, subject to the provisions of section 9 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, sentence him for such offences, to the several punishments prescribed therefor which such Court is competent to inflict and the court shall, considering the gravity of offences, order such punishments to run concurrently or consecutively.
(2) In the case of consecutive sentences, it shall not be necessary for the Court by reason only of the aggregate punishment for the several offences being in excess of the punishment which it is competent to inflict on conviction of a single offence, to send the offender for trial before a higher Court:
Provided that—
(a) in no case shall such person be sentenced to imprisonment for a longer period than fourteen years;
(b) the aggregate punishment shall not exceed twice the amount of punishment which the Court is competent to inflict for a single offence.
(3) For the purpose of appeal by a convicted person, the aggregate of the consecutive sentences passed against him under this section shall be deemed to be a single sentence.
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