PART IV
Special Courts
9. Trial of Offences Under This Act:
1 . Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, all offences under this Act shall be triable only by a Special
Court constituted under this section.
2. The State Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute one or more Special Courts for
the trial of offences under this Act and every Special Court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of the whole or
such part of the State as may be specified in the notification.
3. A Special Court shall be presided over by a Judge to be appointed by the State Government with the
concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court.
4. A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of a Special Court unless he is, immediately before
such appointment, a Sessions Judge or an Additional Sessions Judge in any State.
10. Special Public Prosecutors:
1. For every Special Court, the State Government shall appoint a person to be a Special Public Prosecutor.
2. A person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Special Public Prosecutor under this section only if he had
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 State requiring special knowledge of law.
3. Every person appointed as a Special Public Prosecutor under this section shall be deemed to be a Public
Prosecutor within the meaning of Cl. (u) of Section 2 of the Code and the provisions of the Code shall have effect
accordingly.
11. Procedure and Powers of Special Courts:
1. A Special 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. Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a Special Court shall, for the purpose of the 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 trial before a Court of Session.
12. Power of Special Court With Respect to Other Offences:
1. When trying any offence under this Act, a Special 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 of any offence under this Act it is found that the accused person has committed
any other offence under this Act or under any other law, a Special Court may convict such person also of such
other offence and pass any sentence authorised by this Act or such other law for the punishment thereof.
3. In every inquiry or trial, the proceedings shall be held as expeditiously as possible, and, in particular, where
the examination of witnesses has begun the same shall be continued from day to day until all the witnesses in
attendance have been examined, and if any Special Court finds the adjournment of the same beyond the following
date to be necessary, it shall record its reasons for doing so.
13. Forfeiture of Funds or Property : Where a person has been convicted of an offence under this Act, the Special Court
trying such offence may, if it is considered necessary so to do, declare that any funds or property seized under Section 8 shall
stand forfeited to the State.
14. Appeal:
1. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, an appeal shall lie as a matter of right from any judgement,
sentence or order, not being an interlocutory order, of a Special Court to the High Court both on facts and on
law.
2. 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 High 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.
PART V
Miscellaneous
15. Protection of Action Taken Under This Act. : No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the State
Government or any officer or authority of the State Government for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done
in pursuance of this Act, or any rules or orders made under this Act.
16. Burden of Proof : Where any person is prosecuted of an offence under Section 4, the burden of proving that he had not
committed the offence under the said section shall be on him.
17. Obligation of Certain Persons to Report About the Commission of Offence Under this Act:
1. All officers of Government are hereby required and empowered to assist the police in the execution of the
provisions of this Act, or any rule or order made thereunder.
2. All village officers and such other officers as may be specified by the Collector or the District Magistrate in
relation to any area and the inhabitants of such area shall, if they have reason to believe or have the knowledge
that sati is about to be, or has been, committed in the area shall forthwith report such fact to the nearest police
station.
3. Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be punishable with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine.
18. Person convicted of an Offence Under Section 4 to be Disqualified From Inheriting Certain Properties : A
person convicted of an offence under sub- section (1) of Section 4 in relation to the commission of sati shall be disqualified
from inheriting the property of the person in respect of whom such sati has been committed or the property of any other person
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