Section 480 CrPC: Practising Pleader Not to Sit as Magistrate in Certain Courts
Section 480 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 restricted a practising pleader from sitting as a Magistrate in courts within the specified local jurisdiction. The corresponding current provision is Section 527 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).
Text of Section 480 CrPC, 1973
No pleader who practises in the Court of any Magistrate shall sit as a Magistrate in that Court or in any Court within the local jurisdiction of that Court.
The provision addresses the incompatibility between acting as a legal practitioner before a Magistrate's court and exercising magisterial functions in that court or another court within its local jurisdiction. It is a statutory restriction, not merely an advisory rule.
Section 527 BNSS, 2023: Current corresponding provision
No advocate who practices in the Court of any Magistrate shall sit as a Magistrate in that Court or in any Court within the local jurisdiction of that Court.
The operative restriction remains substantially the same, while the modern statute expressly refers to an advocate. The relevant question is whether the person practises in the Magistrate's court and whether the proposed court falls within the local jurisdiction described by the section.
Meaning and practical application
Who is covered?
Section 480 referred to a pleader; Section 527 BNSS refers to an advocate. The restriction applies where the practitioner also seeks to sit as a Magistrate in a court covered by the provision.
Which courts are covered?
The disqualification covers the very Magistrate's court in which the practitioner practises, and any other court within that court's local jurisdiction. The actual territorial and institutional position must be assessed in the individual case.
Why does this restriction exist?
The rule helps avoid conflicting professional and judicial roles and protects the appearance and reality of impartial judicial administration. It does not, by its own terms, impose a general nationwide prohibition on an advocate ever holding judicial office.
Karnataka state amendment: Section 480A CrPC
The original page records the Karnataka amendment introduced by Karnataka Act 35 of 1984, section 2, inserting Section 480A into the CrPC as applicable in Karnataka:
Any Judicial Magistrate or Executive Magistrate shall be entitled to attest, verify or authenticate any document brought before him for the purpose of attestation, verification or authentication, as the case may be, and to affix seals thereon, as may be prescribed by any law for the time being in force.
This historical state-specific provision concerns document attestation, verification and authentication, not the advocate-disqualification rule in Section 480. Its continued operation after the BNSS commencement must be checked against current Karnataka legislation, notifications and applicable savings provisions; the historical amendment should not automatically be treated as a current BNSS amendment.
Repeal and savings under Section 531 BNSS
Section 531 repeals the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, subject to statutory savings. In particular, certain appeals, applications, trials, inquiries and investigations pending immediately before BNSS commencement continue under the former Code as specified in the savings provision. Whether CrPC Section 480 or BNSS Section 527 governs a particular procedural question therefore requires attention to the proceeding's status and the applicable transitional law.
Official legislation and further reading
Read the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (official India Code PDF) and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (official India Code PDF). The BNSS India Code Act page provides the legislation record.
Legal information only. Verify applicable state amendments, notifications and subsequent judicial decisions for the facts of any particular case.