A full bench of Patna High Court in District Bar Association vs. State of Bihar, has deliberated on the difference between a Sessions Judge and Court of Session, a Sessions judge and an Additional/Assistant Sessions Judge. The bench comprising Chief Justice of Patna High Court IA Ansari, Justice Navaniti Prasad Singh and Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh, made this discussion while dealing with a public interest litigation by the district Bar Association which had challenged a circular issued by High Court wherein it had directed that the applications, seeking pre-arrest/ anticipatory bail, shall be filed before the Sessions Judge, who, shall, in turn, distribute such applications amongst the senior Additional Sessions Judges. According to the Bar Association, under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, every Court of Session has been empowered to issue directions for pre-arrest/anticipatory bail and, hence, the circular is illegal. The bench observed that a Court of Session sh...