Section 21

Criminal trials need a clear starting point: which court has the power to hear which case. This provision, carried forward from Section 26 of the old Code of Criminal Procedure, creates that map so that serious crimes go to courts with matching seniority (like the Court of Session for grave offences) while minor ones can be handled by lower courts named in the First Schedule. The proviso requiring a woman-presided court for certain sexual offence trials reflects reforms aimed at making the courtroom experience more sensitive and less intimidating for survivors of sexual violence.

Under the predecessor provision (Section 26, CrPC, 1973), courts consistently treated the First Schedule as the practical guide for everyday allocation of cases to Magistrates, while reserving Sessions Courts for offences carrying higher punishment. Courts have also read the 'as far as practicable' language in the woman-judge proviso as directory rather than mandatory — meaning that if no woman judge is available, a trial by another judge is not automatically invalid, though authorities are expected to make genuine efforts to comply.

• Myth: All criminal trials must happen in the High Court.
  Fact: Only certain matters go to the High Court; most cases are tried in Sessions Courts or Magistrate courts as directed by the First Schedule.
• Myth: The requirement for a woman judge in sexual offence trials is absolute and makes any other trial invalid.
  Fact: The law says 'as far as practicable,' meaning courts should try to arrange this, but a trial isn't automatically void if a woman judge isn't available.