IN THE HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
RAKESH MOHAN PANDEY, J.
Sukhram Nishad, S/o Late Shree Kawal Ram Nishad – Appellant
Versus
State of Chhattisgarh – Respondent
Criminal Revision No. 832 of 2021
Decided on : 28-03-2023
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Section 397, 401 – Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Section 306, 107 - Abetment of suicide - Abetment of a thing - Deceased committed suicide by hanging herself in a room – Held, On basis of statements of witnesses and contents of F.I.R, wherein there is only allegation against applicant, who is uncle-in-law of deceased, that he used to taunt deceased by saying she was inauspicious to family, therefore, she committed suicide and applicant has been arrayed as accused - Possibility of that something might have happened between deceased and applicant which led deceased to take such an extreme step, cannot be ruled out, and thus, in such a scenario charge for offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC cannot be sustained against applicant - Impugned order of framing charge against applicant for alleged commission of offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC is set aside - Revision is allowed.
ORDER :
1. This criminal revision has been preferred under Section 397 read with Section 401 of Cr.P.C. against the order dated 05.10.2021 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge (F.T.C.), District Rajnandgaon (C.G.) in Sessions Trial No.46/2021, whereby charge for the offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC has been framed against the applicant herein.
2. The case of the prosecution, in short, is that on 15.11.2018 at about 04:00 PM, the deceased namely Lata Bai Nishad, committed suicide by hanging herself in a room. During the course of investigation, it has been stated by mother of the deceased that the present applicant used to harass her, therefore, the deceased committed suicide. On such complaint, the police registered the F.I.R. against the present applicant for offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC.
3. Further case of the prosecution, is that the present applicant is uncle-in-law of the deceased. Marriage between the deceased and nephew of the applicant namely Sevak Nishad was solemnized in the month of March, 2018 and on the date of incident, deceased worked at food-stall of her father-in-law and thereafter, she returned back to home, where she committed suicide. The allegation made by Smt. Jaina Bai, mother of the deceased, against the present applicant is that the applicant used to taunt her by saying that the deceased was inauspicious to the family and after her marriage, the applicant's sister-in-law namely Smt. Kirti Bai has died. After filing of the charge sheet against the applicant herein, the learned trial Court, on the basis of material available on record, framed charge for the offence as stated above against the present applicant.
4. Learned counsel for the applicant would submit that the present applicant was not residing along with the family of the deceased. He is uncle-in-law of the deceased and he was residing at Ward No. 50, Mohad Road Singdai, Basantpur, District Rajnandgaon, whereas the deceased and her family were residing in the same locality, but in a different house. He would further submit that for framing of charge for offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC, the allegation must fulfill the ingredients of Section 107 of IPC. He would also submit that if the prosecution story is accepted in its entirety, the offence of ‘abetment of suicide’ as punishable under Section 306 of IPC is not made out as there was no abetment. He would further submit that the statement of Jaina Bai (mother of deceased), Chuneshwari Nishad (sister of deceased), Govinda Yadav (independent witness), Dilharan Nishad (father of deceased) and Navin Nishad (younger brother of deceased) have been recorded, but they have not made any allegation with regard to abetment.
5. Learned counsel for the State would submit that there is sufficient material for recording conviction against the present applicant. He would further submit that ingredients of Section 107 of IPC are available; therefore, the learned trial Court has rightly framed charge for the offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC.
6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the documents annexed by the applicant along with the criminal revision with utmost circumspection.
7. Perusal of the records reflects that the nephew of the present applicant namely Sevak Nishad was married to the deceased in the month of March, 2018 and the deceased used to work in the food-stall of her father-in-law. On the date of incident, she came back home from food-stall and thereafter, committed suicide. Mother of the deceased has made allegation to the effect that the applicant used to taunt her by saying that the deceased was inauspicious to their family and after her marriage, he lost his sister-in-law.
8. For framing of charge for the offence punishable under Section 306 of the IPC, the requirement is presence of the ingredients of Section 107 of the IPC, which deals with abetment.
‘107. Abetment of a thing.? A
Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) (2009) 16 SCC 605
M. Arjunan v. State, represented by its Inspector of Police
Ramesh Kumar V. State of Chhattisgarh
State of W.B. v. Orilal Jaiswal [(1994) 1 SCC 73 : 1994 SCC (Cri) 107]
S.S. Chheena vs. Vijay Kumar Mahajan
State of Kerala and others vs S. Unnikrishnan Nair and others
Abetment of suicide under IPC requires clear mens rea and active instigation, which was not proven in this case.
The court held that mere allegations of harassment do not establish abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC without direct evidence of instigation or encouragement.
To establish abetment of suicide under IPC, there must be clear evidence of instigation or aiding, which was absent in this case.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that for an offence under Section 306 of IPC, there must be active suggestion, instigation, or encouragement on the part of the accused to abet the....
The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement of specific intent and the absence of evidence of instigation or intentional aid in the commission of suicide under Section 306 of ....
The main legal point established in the judgment is that for abetment under Section 306 of IPC, there must be proof of active instigation or intentional aid, and a scrupulous examination of facts and....
To establish abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC, there must be clear evidence of the accused's intention to instigate the suicide, which was absent in this case.
To establish abetment under Section 306 IPC, there must be clear intent and direct actions by the accused that compel the victim to commit suicide; emotional distress alone is insufficient.
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