To establish abetment of suicide under IPC Section 306, there must be clear evidence of instigation or a direct act by the accused that leads the victim to take their life.

ORDER :

M.NAGAPRASANNA, J.

The petitioners - accused Nos.1, 4, 5, & 6 are before this Court calling in question the proceedings in C.C.No.516/2024 registered for the offences punishable under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC.

2. Heard Sri.Lethif B., learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri.B.N.Jagadeesh, learned Additional State Public Prosecutor appearing for respondent No.1.

3. The facts adumbrated are as follows:

An agreement of sale is entered into between the petitioner No.1 and son-in-law of the respondent No.2 - complainant. On 17.06.2023, it transpires that the son-in-law had requested the APMC to issue an NOC to sell the shop premises. It transpires that on 27.08.2023, the son-in-law of the complainant commits suicide. On commission of suicide, the complainant registers a crime in Crime No.69/2023 for the offences punishable under Section 306 read with 34 of the IPC. The police conduct investigation and the result of the investigation is filing of the charge sheet and the concerned Court registering C.C.No.516/2024. The petitioners had approached this Court at the time of registration of the crime and this Court had granted an interim order of stay of further proceedings in Criminal Petition No.4655/2024. Before the interim order could be communicated, the charge sheet was filed by the jurisdictional Police before the concerned Court, therefore, the petitioners are before this Court in the subject petition on the said prayer.

4. Sri.B.Lethif, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that there is not a titter of ingredient in the case at hand for an offence punishable under Section 306 of the IPC. There is neither proximity, nor wording, nor instigation of the son-in-law of the complainant to commit suicide. An agreement of sale was entered into two months prior to the date of death to sell the shop premises in the APMC. The agreement goes wrong and the son-in-law of the complainant commits suicide, therefore, the blame cannot be laid to the petitioners for instigating such suicide. The complainant is served on 21.09.2024 itself and has not represented even as on date.

5. Sri.B.N.Jagadeesh, learned Additional State Public Prosecutor would refute the submissions of the petitioners to contend that the police after investigation, have filed a charge sheet. In the light of the charge sheet filed by the police, it is for the petitioners to come out clean in a full blown trial. He would submit that the ingredients necessary for an offence under Section 306 of the IPC is undoubtedly present in the case at hand. He would seek dismissal of the petition.

6. I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions made by the respective learned counsel and have perused the material on record.

7. The afore-narrated facts linked in the chain of events are all a matter of record. An agreement of sale entered into in the month of June, 2023, goes wrong and the executant of the agreement one Mahadevswamy commits suicide on the score that the agreement had gone wrong. The blame is now laid at the doors of these petitioners, who are said to have instigated the abetment of suicide. Since the entire issue triggered from the registration of the complaint, I deem it appropriate to notice the complaint, it reads as follows:

8. The jurisdictional police conduct investigation and filed a charge sheet against these petitioners and others for the offences punishable under Section 306 read with 34 of the IPC. Summary of the charge sheet as obtained in Column No.17 reads as follows:

9. If the complaint and the summary of the charge sheet are read in tandem, what would unmistakably emerge is that the allegation against these petitioners for offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC is loosely laid against these petitioners. For an offence to become punishable under Section 306 of the IPC what is necessary is the ingredients of abetment to be present. Abetment is defined under Section 107 of the IPC. Section 107 of the IPC reads as follow