In Brief
Kaushik Chatterjee, an accused in three fraud-related criminal cases pending in Gurugram, sought transfer to New Delhi, claiming lack of territorial jurisdiction since the loans were sanctioned and executed in Delhi, Indore, and Surat respectively. The Supreme Court dismissed the transfer petitions, holding that territorial jurisdiction depends on facts to be established through evidence under Sections 177-184 of the CrPC. The Court distinguished between lack of jurisdiction to try an offence (which cannot be cured) and lack of territorial jurisdiction when trying an offender (which may be saved). It held that such jurisdictional objections must be raised and decided by the trial court itself, not at the transfer petition stage.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.