DUBAI Indian expats can approach Indian courts to seek justice in certain cases even if the offence is committed outside India, top legal experts have said.
Speaking to XPRESS at a legal empowerment meet organised by Musthafa & Almana Legal Consultants and the Dubai Judicial Institute in Dubai on Monday, T. Asaf Ali, Director General of Prosecution at the Kerala High Court, said: “Non-resident Indians can fall back upon many legal provisions in the 155-year-old Indian Penal Code in India. But they are not exercising them because they lack awareness about extra territorial jurisdictions of Indian courts.”
Legal provisions
Musthafa Zafeer of Musthafa & Almana said: “When Indian expats get involved in a legal case, they immediately go to the Indian embassy or consulate. They don’t think of exploring the legal provisions available to them. For instance, we have heard of so many trading scams where several businessmen in the UAE have been duped by fellow Indians who flee to India after committing a crime. But how many file a police complaint against the suspects back in India? The same is the case with issues of domestic violence and harassment.”
Ali said Indian courts have the jurisdiction to try cases even if a small part of the offence is carried out from a local area or if the consequence of an offence committed elsewhere is established in that jurisdiction. Citing the case of an Indian man who died in India after being brutally assaulted by two foreigners in Dubai, he said the case can be put to trial in an Indian court after establishing that the death resulted from the injuries.
He also spoke of a potential trial of two foreigners who abducted a girl from Dubai and detained her in an Indian city and a case where jewellery stolen from Dubai was taken to India after paying customs duty. “Though the burglary took place in Dubai, the very act of keeping stolen jewellery in a local area is sufficient ground to try the case in the local court,” said Ali.
In another example, Ali said if an Indian commits an act that is not deemed a crime in another country, he can still be prosecuted in the home country wherever he is first found. A case in point is ‘adultery’ committed in the UK, he noted.
He said Indian expats should know that filing police complaints in India is an easy online process. “If the case is genuine, you can register your complaint online with the concerned police station and the police will take cognisance of it.”
