(1) A Special Court may take cognizance of any scheduled offences,–
(a) upon receiving a complaint of facts which constitute such offence;
(b) upon a police report of such facts ;
(c) upon information received from any person other than a police officer, or upon its own knowledge that such offence has been committed :
Provided that all cases triable by a Special Court under this Act, pending before any Court immediately before the date of the commencement of this Act in a dacoity affected area, shall stand transferred to the Special Court having jurisdiction over such cases and shall be dealt with and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(2) A Special Court shall, while trying a scheduled offence, so far as may be, follow the procedure provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for trial of sessions cases : Provided that the Special Court may, wherever necessary, perform the functions of a Magistrate under section 207 of the said Code and proceed to try the case as if the case had been committed to Court of Sessions for trial under the provisions of such Code.
(3) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall, in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, apply to the proceedings before a Special Court and for the purposes of the provisions of the said Code, the Special Court shall be deemed to be a Court of Sessions and the person conducting the prosecution before a Special Court shall be deemed to be a public prosecutor.
(4) A Special Court may, with a view to obtain the evidence of any person supposed to have been directly or indirectly concerned in or privy to any scheduled offence, tender a pardon to such person on condition of his making a full and true disclosure of the whole circumstances within his knowledge relating to the offence and to every other person concerned whether as principal or abettor in the commission thereof and any pardon so tendered shall for the purposes of section 308 of the said Code, be deemed to have been tendered under section 307 thereof.
(5) A Special Court may pass upon any accused person convicted by it any sentence authorized by law for the punishment of offence of which such person is convicted.