As regard to designation “Magistrate,” he either relate to a Metropolitan Area, if so then he is called Metropolitan Magistrate and if he is a “Magistrate” outside of the Metro Area  then he is called a Judicial Magistrate. Similarly, the rank of the Magistrate is assigned based on his place [Metro or Rural] and he is accordingly called First Class Metropolitan Magistrate or First Class Judicial Magistrate and Second Class Metropolitan Magistrate or Second Class Judicial Magistrate.

Similarly, the Chief Judicial Magistrate is Chief of all the Judicial Magistrates in a local jurisdiction, particularly a District. Accordingly the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate is a Chief of all the Metropolitan Magistrates of his assigned local jurisdiction.

Otherwise, in Cr.P.C. if a Magistrate is referred as Judicial Magistrate, he is a Presiding Officer of a Criminal Court of local jurisdiction to which he is assigned with. Otherwise, the connotation Judicial Magistrate is synonym with that of Metropolitan Magistrate in the Criminal Code.

The primary responsibility of the Magistrate includes;

1. Appreciation or sifting of evidence
2. Judicial Remand or Police Custody till pending investigation, inquiry or trial
3. Arriving at a decision thereby exposing guilty of the person and punishing / penalizing him and or doing both.
4. All the powers empowered on him under the Code of Criminal Procedures or any other procedures that came along with punishable offences in the Special Act.

The other responsibility includes:

Administrative or executive in nature such as granting license, suspension or cancellation of licenses, authorising or withdrawing a prosecution – however all such activities exercisable by a person and who is called an Executive Magistrate. The Executive Magistrate powers are vast or expansive in terms of administration of justice delivery system whereas a Judicial Magistrate powers is only affording justice.