Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 · Chapter XIII: Jurisdiction of the Criminal Courts in Inquiries and Trials
Section 188: Offence committed outside India
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.
When an offence is committed outside India—
(a) by a citizen of India, whether on the high seas or elsewhere; or
(b) by a person, not being such citizen, on any ship or aircraft registered in India, he may be dealt with in respect of such offence as if it had been committed at any place within India at which he may be found:
Provided that, notwithstanding anything in any of the preceding sections of this Chapter, no such offence shall be inquired into or tried in India except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 188
- Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu
- National Investigation Agency v. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali
- Rajdeep Sardesai v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors.
- Republic of Italy and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors.
- National Bank of Oman v. Barakara Abdul Aziz & Anr.
- Thota Venkateswarlu v. State of A.P. Tr. Princl. Sec. & Anr.
- V.R. Dalal & Ors. v. Yougendra Naranji Thakkar & Anr.
- Fatma Bibi Ahmed Patel v. State. of Gujarat & Anr.
- Sanapareddy Maheedhar and Anr v. State of Andhra Pradesh and Anr.
- Musaraf Hossain Khan v. Bhagheeratha Engg. Ltd and Ors.
- Om Hemrajani v. State of U.P. and Anr.
- A.V. Mohan Rao and Anr. v. M. Kishan Rao and Anr.
- Enforcement Directorate and Anr. v. M. Samba Siva Rao and Ors.
- Central Bureau of Investigation v. State of Rajasthan and Ors.
- Rosiline George v. UOI & Ors.
- Ajay Agarwal v. Union of India and Ors