CrPC Section 178
⚖️ Section 178 – Place of Inquiry or Trial
Purpose:
Section 178 deals with situations where an offence may have been committed partly in one area and partly in another, or where it is uncertain where exactly the offence occurred. It lays down rules for deciding which court has jurisdiction to inquire into or try the offence.
Legal Provision (Simplified):
According to Section 178 CrPC, an offence may be inquired into or tried by a court having jurisdiction in any of the following situations:
Part of the offence is committed in one local area and part in another.
The offence is a continuing one and continues to be committed in more than one area.
It is uncertain in which of several local areas the offence was committed.
The offence is committed in multiple areas.
Key Points:
Allows flexibility in venue of trial.
Prevents miscarriage of justice due to technicalities about location.
Helps in cases involving:
Crimes committed during travel (e.g. fraud, theft),
Cybercrime affecting multiple places,
Offences where the place of result and act differ (e.g., poisoning in one place, death in another).
Example:
A person is kidnapped in City A and taken to City B — both courts can try the case.
A defamatory email is written in City X but read and caused harm in City Y — both locations have jurisdiction.
RELATED Blog
comments