Concurrent jurisdiction in anticipatory bail permits direct High Court filing; prior recourse to Sessions Court is not mandatory.

Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure confers concurrent jurisdiction on the High Court and the Court of Session, so an anticipatory bail application may be filed directly before the High Court without first approaching the Court of Session. A filing-stage practice of returning such applications for prior recourse to the subordinate forum cannot override the statute. The choice of forum also supports the protection of personal liberty under Article 21. The Court noted that it may, in a suitable case, direct a party to approach the Court of Session, but that is a matter of judicial discretion and not a mandatory precondition.

---

---

Issues: Whether an application for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 must first be moved before the Court of Session before it can be entertained by the High Court.

Analysis: Section 438 expressly confers concurrent jurisdiction on the High Court and the Court of Session and gives the affected person a choice of forum. The language of the provision is plain and admits of no restrictive rule of practice requiring prior recourse to the Court of Session. A practice returning applications at the filing stage on that ground cannot override the statute. The right to approach the High Court in the first instance also bears upon personal liberty protected by Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Court further held that, while it remains open in an appropriate case to direct a party to approach the Court of Session, that is a matter of judicial discretion and not a mandatory precondition.

Conclusion: It is not obligatory to move the Court of Session in the first instance before approaching the High Court under Section 438; the Registry practice of returning such applications is impermissible in law.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute expressly confers concurrent jurisdiction and gives the litigant a choice of forum, no rule of practice can impose a prior approach to the subordinate forum unless the statute itself so provides.

---