FIR Can't Be Quashed Only On Ground That Police Station Had No Territorial Jurisdiction To Probe Matter: MP High Court

A bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia further said that if any cognizable offence has been committed, a complainant can lodge the FIR in any Police Station. If the Police Station concludes that it has no territorial jurisdiction to investigate the matter, it has to transfer the FIR to the Police Station having territorial jurisdiction to investigate the same. However, on this ground alone, an FIR can't be quashed.

The single judge made these observations while dealing with a plea filed by a husband and his parents seeking quashing of an FIR lodged by his wife under Section 498-A read with Section 34 of IPC and Sections 3 & 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

Essentially, the applicants argued that the FIR had been lodged as a counterblast to the petition filed by applicant No. 1 (husband) for a grant of divorce.

It was also argued that the wife (respondent no. 2) does not reside in Kareli city (where the FIR has been lodged), but despite this, the FIR has been lodged there as her father is a practising advocate there. On this ground also, the quashing of the FIR was sought.

At the outset, the Court noted that if a wife, intending to save her marital life, decides not to lodge the FIR at the earliest and after coming to know that her husband has filed a divorce petition, she decides to lodge an FIR, then it cannot be said that if the said FIR is a product of counterblast.

On the contrary, it shows that the wife made every effort to save her marital life, and when she lost all hope, she decided to lodge the FIR, which the Court added could not be quashed.

The Court also discarded the applicants' argument that since the father of respondent No. 2 (wife) is a practising lawyer in District Court Narsinghpur, a false report had been lodged at Kareli (a city in Narsinghpur).

The Court said that merely because a complainant's relative is a practising lawyer would not make the FIR vulnerable. The Court has to consider the allegations made in the FIR and not the status of the complainant or his/her relatives.

Further, the Court also noted that an FIR cannot be quashed on the ground that police have no jurisdiction to register it and that it cannot be quashed only on the ground that the Police Station where the FIR has been lodged has no territorial jurisdiction to investigate the matter.

Case title - Tamish Saluja and others vs. State Of Madhya Pradesh and another

Case citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 103

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