According to section 11 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, a Special Judicial Magistrate…

Section 11(2) BNSS (formerly section 13(2) CrPC) provides that Special Judicial Magistrates shall be appointed for such term, not exceeding one year at a time, as the High Court may, by general or special order, direct. The High Court may direct a shorter term, but the question asks for the maximum single appointment period.

Why not "three years"? A three-year appointment at one time exceeds the one-year ceiling. The question concerns the length of an individual appointment term, so the possibility of separate later appointments does not justify combining them into a longer maximum for the appointment being tested.

Why not "two years"? Two years exceeds the maximum permitted by the provision, which limits each appointment term to no more than one year at a time.

Why not "six months"? Six months could fall within the permitted range if such a shorter term were directed, but it is not the maximum allowed by the provision. The question asks for the ceiling rather than any permissible duration, and that ceiling is one year.