The power under Section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 may be exercised by:

Section 4(1) gives the power to "the court by which the person is found guilty", and section 11 extends it to any court empowered to try and sentence the offender and to courts hearing an appeal or revision. A Magistrate can use it as much as a Sessions Court, and a probation officer only reports; he does not decide.