NRK chooses US court over Kerala court

KOCHI: A non-resident Keralite (NRK) living in the US has chosen a court there over the Indian judicial system to proceed against another US-based NRK in a case related to a property transaction. The NRK's demand for quashing the case registered in Kerala so as to continue with the case in the US court has been accepted by the high court.
The high court quashed the case (Crime No 156/2016) registered at Iritty police station in Kannur that alleged criminal breach of trust, cheating, and criminal intimidation against a Kannur-based NRK who is stationed at Atlanta, Georgia after considering a petition filed by Vinod Issac of Karinkunnam in Thodupuzha.Vinod filed the petition on behalf of his brother, who is in the US.
Vinod's brother had allegedly entered into a real estate business with the Georgia-based NRK and had lost huge amounts of money. While a case was registered by Iritty police based on a complaint, Vinod's brother, who is in the US, also initiated independent proceedings before the state court of Gwinnett County in Georgia.
Opposing the case in the US, the accused NRK raised the contention that the proceedings could not be continued in view of the fact that independent criminal proceedings were pending in India. The accused produced records of the case registered in Kannur before the US court.
Approaching the high court to quash the case registered in Kannur, the complainant's brother informed that pendency of the case in India would adversely affect his brother's rights in realizing the money lost, through the US court. In such circumstances, they did not intend or wish to continue with the proceedings in India, the court was told.
The public prosecutor in the case submitted that the complainant's brother had in fact sent an email to the investigating officer expressing his desire not to prosecute the accused as it would affect the case in the US.
Quashing the case (Crl MC 3059/2016) in Kannur, a single bench of the high court held, "I do not find any reason to disallow the prayer. The de facto complainant himself has come before this court seeking to quash the proceedings and there is no point in retaining the proceedings on file."