Section 188 CrPC - Sanction Not Required If A Part Of Offence Is Committed In India: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court observed that Section 188 of the Criminal Procedure Code will not be attracted if a part of the offence was committed in India.

The Section gets attracted when the entirety of the offence is committed outside India; and the grant of sanction would enable such offence to be enquired into or tried in India, the bench comprising Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat and Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha observed.

In this case, the Uttarakhand High Court, reversed the acquittal recorded by the Trial Court and convicted the accused of the offences punishable under Sections 363, 366-B, 370(4) and 506 of the IPC, and under Section 8 of the POCSO Act. The accused had allegedly imported a minor girl, who is the resident of Nepal to India, for exploitation.

One of the contentions raised by the accused in appeal before the Supreme Court was that the requirements under Section 188 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 were not satisfied and no sanction in terms of said Section was placed on record; and that in the absence of such sanction, the accused could not have been tried.

Under Section 188 CrPC, even if an offence is committed outside India, (a) by a citizen whether on the high seas or anywhere else or (b) by a non-citizen on a ship or aircraft registered in India, the offence can still be tried in India provided the conditions mentioned in said Section are satisfied. 

Referring to the evidence on record, the bench noted that a part of the offence was committed in India. The Court observed:

 The Section gets attracted when the entirety of the offence is committed outside India; and the grant of sanction would enable such offence to be enquired into or tried in India......As the facts and circumstances of the case indicate, a part of the offence was definitely committed on the soil of this country and as such going by the normal principles the offence could be looked into and tried by Indian courts. Since the offence was not committed in its entirety, outside India, the matter would not come within the scope of Section 188 of the Code and there was no necessity of any sanction as mandated by the proviso to Section 188. 

Dismissing the appeal, the court observed that the offences alleged against the appellant were rightly invoked and fully substantiated.

Case details

Sartaj Khan vs State of Uttarakhand | 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 321 | CrA 852 OF 2018 | 24 March 2022

Coram: Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat and Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

Counsel: Sr. Adv Jitendra Mohan Sharma for the appellant, Adv Jatinder Kumar Bhatia for the State

Headnotes

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ; Section 188 -  The Section gets attracted when the entirety of the offence is committed outside India; and the grant of sanction would enable such offence to be enquired into or tried in India - When a part of the offence was definitely committed on the soil of this country, going by the normal principles the offence could be looked into and tried by Indian courts - If the offence was not committed in its entirety, outside India, the matter would not come within the scope of Section 188 of the Code and there is no necessity of any sanction as mandated by the proviso to Section 188. (Para 13,14)

Summary - Appeal against Uttarakhand HC judgment convicting accused appellant under Sections 363, 366-B, 370(4) and 506 of the IPC, and under Section 8 of the POCSO Act-  Dismissed -  The offences alleged against the appellant were rightly invoked and fully substantiated.

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