Telangana High Court quashes cruelty FIR against NRI husband for alleged incidents in US, flags lack of territorial jurisdiction

The Telangana High Court quashed a cruelty First Information Report against a Non-Resident Indian husband for alleged incidents in the United States. The High Court held that the police lacked jurisdiction to investigate offences alleged to have occurred outside India without prior sanction under the law. The petitioner approached the High Court seeking to quash the criminal case registered against him following a complaint by his wife regarding marital disputes and alleged cruelty that took place abroad. The High Court observed that Indian courts cannot take cognizance of foreign offences without the central government’s sanction as mandated by law. The bench ruled that continuing the criminal proceedings without fulfilling this statutory requirement amounts to an abuse of the judicial process. The High Court directed that the criminal case against the husband stands quashed, protecting him from further trial proceedings in the matter.