By Thanush S, Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram
The Kerala High Court recently quashed a cruelty case against a man residing in Australia. The wife had filed the case under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (marital cruelty) in India.
Justice A Badharudeen explained that Section 188 of the CrPC says if a crime happens outside India by an Indian citizen, the Indian government must approve taking the case to court in India.
The court noted that sanction wouldn’t be needed if even a part of the offense happened in India.
In this case, however, all allegations were from Australia, making the case invalid without sanction. The court allowed proceedings against another accused in the case (petitioner’s relative) but quashed the case against the husband residing in Australia.
Case Title: Darvin Dominic v State Of Kerala
Case Number: CRL.MC NO. 2448 OF 2023
References
[1] Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty – https://indiankanoon.org/doc/538436/
[2] Offence committed outside India – https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1127398/
[3] Sartaj Khan v. State of Uttarakhand, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 321 (India)
[4] https://www.barandbench.com/news/section-498a-ipc-offence-abroad-india-central-government-sanction-kerala-high-court
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