Ordinary Place of Inquiry and Trial; Jurisdiction of Courts; Transfer of Cases
Territorial jurisdiction of criminal courts — where cases are tried
Legal Commentary
Explanation
Sections 177–189 establish the territorial jurisdiction framework — which court geographically has the right and power to try a particular criminal case. Section 177's basic rule is intuitive: the court in whose jurisdiction the offence was committed has jurisdiction. Section 178's exceptions handle complex cases: continuing offences (where the offence spans multiple locations), offences committed partly in different districts, and offences consisting of multiple acts in different areas — any of the courts with territorial connection can try the case. These provisions have become increasingly important with cyber crimes: when an online fraud is committed by a person in Mumbai against a victim in Delhi, both Delhi courts (where the victim suffered the consequence) and Mumbai courts (where the offence was committed) may have jurisdiction. Cyber crimes effectively allow victims to choose any jurisdictionally-connected court.