A warrant case that begins on a private complaint, or on a court’s own cognizance, is tried by a Magistrate under a procedure that differs in important ways from the procedure for a case founded on a police report. Evidence is taken before a charge is framed, and the complainant carries the burden of proving a prima facie case at that early stage. This paper explains the stages of that trial as laid down in Sections 244 to 250 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and in the corresponding Sections 267 to 273 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. It then considers how courts have read the discharge provisions and offers observations on the practical strengths and weaknesses of the scheme.