Transit anticipatory bail jurisdiction extends to the court where arrest is apprehended, despite an FIR being lodged elsewhere.

Section 438 CrPC was treated as broad enough to permit the High Court or Court of Session at the place where arrest is apprehended to consider transit anticipatory bail, even when the FIR is registered in another jurisdiction. The territorial objection was rejected because the existence of concurrent jurisdiction before the court where the FIR is pending does not make the local application non-maintainable. Without examining the merits of the allegations, the court granted limited interim protection from arrest for a short period, subject to cooperation with investigation and other safeguards.

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Issues: Whether the High Court had jurisdiction to entertain and grant transit anticipatory bail where the FIR was registered outside its territorial jurisdiction, and whether the applicants were entitled to interim protection till they could approach the court concerned.

Analysis: The territorial objection raised against the transit bail application was rejected in view of the settled position that the power under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is not confined so as to exclude the High Court or Court of Session at the place where arrest is apprehended merely because the FIR is registered elsewhere. The court relied on earlier decisions holding that the court at the place of apprehended arrest retains jurisdiction to grant transit anticipatory bail, and the existence of concurrent jurisdiction in the court where the FIR is registered does not render the application before the local court non-maintainable. Without entering into the merits of the accusations, the court considered the circumstances of the matter and found it appropriate to protect the applicants from arrest for a limited period, subject to cooperation with investigation and other safeguards.

Conclusion: The objection to maintainability on territorial jurisdiction was overruled, the impugned order was set aside, and limited transit anticipatory bail protection was granted to the applicants with conditions.

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