Jurisdiction of file a complaint of a party who fraudulantly denies the contract

Question

The complainant started working for a company as a freelancer, there is no duly signed document but the complainant has the confirmation message in Skype conversation. Also he has all the conversation with the said company's employees regarding the progress of the work and other conversations.

Now the defendant company says that "you were not worked in our company as an employee nor freelancer". Also they are accusing that the complainant accessed the server illegally and stole the data. Actually it was legal work, so how can the complainant get remedy? while filing the case the court questioned the jurisdiction because the complainant is in one district and the defendant is in other district within the same state Tamilnadu.

Actually the work was done and committed in the place of Complainant but later point of time the defendant fraudulently denies the work and accusing that the Complainant access their server illegally from Complainant in his location.

The complainant filed case in the Judicial Magistrate Court under 200 CrPC (1973) along with all the evidence to prove his innocence.

How could we decide the jurisdiction? Is there is any case law or sections in favor to the complainant in India to file a case in his Jurisdiction?

Answer 1

Normally, an alleged offence of this sort that crosses jurisdictional boundaries will be deemed to have been committed where the defendant is located at the time of the offence regardless of where they live - as it is they who do the actus reus at the relevant time.

In india, the venue is determined by section 177 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973:

• Ordinary place of inquiry and trial.

Every offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a Court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed.

However, there is any doubt which is the appropriate venue section 178 will apply:

• Place of inquiry or trial.

(a) When it is uncertain in which of several local areas an offence was committed, or

(b) where an offence is committed, partly in one local area and partly in another, or

(c) where an offence, is a continuing one, and continues to be committed in more local areas than one, or

(d) where it consists of several acts done in different local areas, it may be inquired into or tried by a Court having jurisdiction over any of such local areas.

Also, note the provisions of section 462:

• Proceedings in wrong place.

No finding, sentence or order of any Criminal Court shall be set aside merely on the ground that the inquiry, trial or other proceedings in the course of which it was arrived at or passed, took place in a wrong sessions division, district, sub- division or other local area, unless it appears that such error has in fact occasioned a failure of justice.