IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF NOVEMBER, TWO THOUSAND AND ELEVEN PRESENT: THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD CRIMINAL PETITION Nos.5717 and 6299 of 2008 CRL.P.No.5717 of 2008 Between: Padala Ravi … Petitioner And The State of A.P., rep., by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Hyderabad & another. … Respondents This Court made the following: THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD CRIMINAL PETITION Nos.5717 and 6299 of 2008 COMMON JUDGMENT:- Both the criminal petitions having arisen out of the grievance of the second respondent in both the criminal petitions in relation to matrimonial offences said to have been committed against her, they are being heard and disposed of together. The factual background for the disputes is that the Sub-Inspector of Police, Yedpally filed the charge sheet in Crime No.116 of 2007 of Yedpally Police Station in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Bodhan, alleging that the second respondent herein gave a complaint against the petitioner in CRL.P.No.5717 of 2008 alleging that after her marriage with him on 12.03.2000 at Basheerbad during which her parents had given a dowry of Rs.1,50,000/-, house hold articles worth Rs.1,00,000/- and gold and silver ornaments worth Rs.1,00,000/-, she joined her husband at her parents-in-laws’ place at Basheerbad. She alleged that after one month her husband went to Dubai and her parents-in-law, brothers-in-law and their wives began to harass her physically and mentally demanding additional dowry. When her husband returned in 2002 from Dubai, she informed him about the ill- treatment, but he supported his parents and brothers and even the income earned by him was given by him to his parents and brothers. Her husband was stated to have been gone again to Dubai and to have returned in 2004. When again there was a demand for additional dowry of Rs.2,00,000/-, which the second respondent herein was unable to comply, there was a panchayat in 2005, after which she was treated well for two months and after the second respondent joined as a Teacher in a Village of Pitlam Mandal, the harassment again started asking her not to do the job. After she gave birth to a son at her parents’ place, they were again taken back to Basheerbad, but again the ill-treatment continued. On the next day after Dasara in 2007, the second respondent was again asked to bring the additional dowry and her gold ornaments were snatched away from her and she was sent out of the house. There was a panchayat at Yedpally on 14.11.2007 before elders during which again they demanded the additional dowry of Rs.2,00,000/-. The Investigating Officer stated in the charge sheet that investigation disclosed the allegations of the second respondent in her complaint would have been established and therefore he charged the husband/petitioner in CRL.P.No.5717 of 2008 with an offence punishable under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. He deleted the names of the other accused, as he found from the statements of the independent witnesses that they were not involved in the cruelty of her harassment. Thereupon, the second respondent filed C.C.No.271 of 2008 before the same Court, which was the private complaint filed before the Court alleging committal of offence under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. The contents of the private complaint are a replica of the contents of the report given to the police and the inclusion of the parents-in-law, brothers-in-law and their wives is nothing but abuse of process in the case instituted on a private complaint. The petitioners in both the cases primarily contend, apart from denying the allegations of the second respondent, that the alleged offences took place within the jurisdiction of some other criminal Court, but not the Court at Bodhan. The jurisdiction of Yedpally police to investigate into the crime was also questioned, as the offences come under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Banswada or Armoor. Even if the contents of the charge sheet or the private complaint are read as a whole and accepted at face value, still the Bodhan Court has no jurisdiction to try the cases and hence the accused/petitioners desired the proceedings to be quashed. Sri A. Prabhakar Rao, learned counsel for the petitioners, in both the cases, Sri M. Rajamalla Reddy, learned counsel for the second respondent in both the cases and Sri Rudresh Deshpande representing the learned Public Prosecutor for the first respondent in both the cases are heard. The point for consideration is whether the proceedings before the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Bodhan, in C.C.No.144 of 2008 and C.C.No.271 of 2008 have to be terminated on the ground of want of jurisdiction. The allegations in the charge sheet filed by the police leading to C.C.No.144 of 2008 are straight and clear that the marriage took place at Basheerbad. The marital life between the parties was at Basheerbad and Godmegaon village of Pitlam Mandal during which the second respondent in the cases was claimed to have subjected to cruelty and harassment with reference to a demand for additional dowry. The only place within the jurisdiction of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Bodhan where any part of events relating to the matrimonial disputes was alleged to have taken place was Yedpally where a panchayat has taken place on 14.11.2007, a week before the second respondent lodged her complaint with the police. The second respondent returning to her parents house on being sent out of the matrimonial home after Dasara holidays was almost immediate in point of time prior to 14.11.2007 and the parents place at Yedpally is of course located within the territorial jurisdiction of the Magistrate, Bodhan. After the second respondent was sent out of the matrimonial home on her refusal to comply with the demand for additional dowry of Rs.2,00,000/-, no further event of her cruelty or harassment was stated to have taken place either at Basheerbad or Yedpally. Sri A. Prabhakar Rao, learned counsel for the petitioners, referred to the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure prescribing the place of enquiry or trial into the offences and contended that when the Court has no jurisdiction over any local area where the offence was committed or is continuing, the Court can have no jurisdiction. The learned counsel contended that even Section 198A relating to prosecution of offences under Section 498 of the Indian Penal Code does not enlarge the scope of the other provisions to confer jurisdiction of the learned Magistrate at Bhodan. In response, Sri N. Rajamalla Reddy, learned counsel for the second respondent, referred to the decision reported in Valluri Ramachandra Rao and others vs. State of A.P., rep., by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Hyderabad and another, wherein the learned Judge was dealing with similar offence under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code said to have primarily committed in the United States of America and His Lordship was examined the question with particular reference to Section 188 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 dealing with the offences committed outside India by the citizens of India. In the course of such consideration, His Lordship referred to the judgment cited before him, which was the decision reported in Ramesh Venkat Perumal vs. State of A.P., wherein there was an observation that if a married woman is forced to stay at her parents’ house in order to meet the illegal demands of her husband or relatives of her husband, naturally she suffers mental agony even during her stay at her parents’ house and hence, it is continuing offence and continues during her stay at her parents’ house. The observations have to be firstly noted before with reference to the examination of the question of the requirement of prior permission from the Central Government under Section 188 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in respect of an offence committed by a citizen of India outside the territory of the country and the fact that the offence under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code is a continuing offence having its substance even during the stay of his longed wife at her parents’ house is well settled, but the facts and circumstances in the present case do not show any stay of the second respondent at her parents’ house for any significant period before the criminal proceedings were launched against the petitioners in both the cases. When she was allegedly sent out from the matrimonial home on the next day of Dasara festival and there was a panchayat on 14.11.2007 and the complaint to the police on 21.11.2007 with no allegations of further instance between the parties either in person or through any other mode of communication, jurisdiction cannot be conferred on the Court territorially covering the place of stay for a few days before the complaint on invoking any legal fiction of a continuing offence. The ratio decidendi of the decision cited with reference to Section 188 of the Code of Criminal Procedure therefore cannot be extended to the facts of the present case and no part of the offence can be considered in the circumstances of this case on the own allegations of second respondent would be occurred within the territorial jurisdiction of the Bhodan Magistrate Court. In the absence of territorial jurisdiction for the Bhodan Court of course cannot meet an end to the criminal proceedings themselves as the police and the private complainant have always at liberty to approach the Court having jurisdiction over the matter for further proceeding against the petitioners in accordance with law and to enable them to do so. The final report/charge sheet filed by the police and the private complaint have to be respectively returned to them while upholding the objections of the petitioners about lack of territorial jurisdiction about the Bhodan Court to take cognisance of the offence against them and try them. Accordingly, the final report/charge sheet filed by the Sub-Inspector of Police, Yedpally, in Crime No.116 of 2007 on the file of the police station taken cognisance by the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Bhodan in C.C.No.144 of 2008 shall be returned to him for being presented before the Court having jurisdiction in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law and similarly the private complaint taken on file in C.C.No.271 of 2008 by the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Bhodan, shall be returned to the second respondent in CRL.P.No.6299 of 2008 for presentation to proper Court. The criminal petitions are ordered accordingly. ________________________ G. BHAVANI PRASAD, J Date: 16.11.2011 ES