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In Gangula Ashok and another (supra) a complaint had been lodged against the appellants before the police and after investigation the police filed a charge-sheet before the Special Judge which was designated as Special Court for trial of offences under the aforesaid Act. The Special Judge proceeded to frame a charge against the appellants which was challenged before the High Court by them. A learned Judge of the High Court found that the procedure adopted by the Investigating Officer in filing the charge sheet before the Special Court was not in accordance with law and the Special Judge had no jurisdiction to take cognizance of any offence under the Act without the case having been committed to that Court. In this view of the matter the learned Judge set aside the proceedings of the Special Court and directed the charge sheet and the connected papers to be returned to the police officer concerned to present the same before a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class for the purpose of committal to the Special Court. The judgment of the learned Judge was challenged before this Court and after an exhaustive consideration of the authorities on the subject and the statutory provisions, this Court upheld the order of the High Court setting aside the proceeding initiated by the Special Court, though it did not approve of the directions given by the High Court that after committal of the case, the Special Court shall frame charge against the appellant. Obviously so, because it is for the Special Court to decide regarding the action to be taken next after hearing the parties as provided under Section 227 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Noticing the provisions of Section 193 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 14 of the 1989 Act this Court observed that the Act contemplated only the trial to be conducted by Special Court. The added reasons for specifying a Court of Session as a Special Court is to ensure speed for such trial. Thus the Court of Session is specified to conduct a trial and no other court can conduct the trial of offences under the Act. The legislative intent was to ensure that the offences under the Act were tried by Special Court and Court of Session was specified as a Special Court under Section 14 of the 1989 Act. Even after being so specified as a Special Court the Court of Session continues to be essentially a Court of Session and its designation as a Special Court did not denude it of its character or even powers as a Court of Session. The trial in such a Court can be conducted only in the manner provided in Chapter XVIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure which contains a fasciculus of provisions for trial before a Court of Session. This Court then observed :-

"10. Section 193 of the Code has to be understood in the aforesaid backdrop. The section imposes an interdict on all Courts of Session against taking cognizance of any offence as a court of original jurisdiction. It can take cognizance only if "the case has been committed to it by a Magistrate", as provided in the Code. Two segments have been indicated in Section 193 as exceptions to the aforesaid interdict. One is, when the Code itself has provided differently in express language regarding taking of cognizance, and the second is when any other law has provided differently in express language regarding taking cognizance of offences under such law. The word "expressly" which is employed in Section 193 denoting those exceptions is indicative of the legislative mandate that a Court of Session can depart from the interdict contained in the section only if it is provided differently in clear and unambiguous terms. In other words, unless it is positively and specifically provided differently no Court of Session can take cognizance of any offence directly, without the case being committed to it by a Magistrate.

The same view was reiterated in Vidyadharan (supra). This Court concluded by observing :-

"20. Hence, we have no doubt that a special court under the Act is essentially a court of session and it can take cognizance of the offence when the case is committed to it by the magistrate in accordance with the provisions of the Code. In other words, a complaint or a charge-sheet cannot straight away be laid down before the special court under the Act. We are reiterating the view taken by this Court in Gangula Ashok and another vs. State of A.P. : (2000) 2 SCC 504 in above terms with which we are in respectful agreement. The sessions court in the case at hand, undisputedly has acted as one of original jurisdiction, and the requirements of section 193 of the Code were not met."