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2021 Supreme(Guj) 298

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
A.S. SUPEHIA, J.
Laxmansinh Pratapsinh Bodana - Appellant
Versus
State of Gujarat - Respondent
R/Criminal Misc.Application No. 3469 of 2021
Decided On : 28-04-2021

Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant :Mr J M Panchal With Mr Virat G Popat, Advocates (3710)
For the Respondent: Meet R Modi(8744) Mr. Bhadrish S Raju(6676) Mr J K Shah, App (2)

Point of law : The expression “abetment” has been defined under Section 107 IPC which we have already extracted above. A person is said to abet the commission of suicide when a person instigates any person to do that thing as stated in clause Firstly or to do anything as stated in clauses Secondly or Thirdly of Section 107 IPC. Section 109 IPC provides that if the act abetted is committed pursuant to and in consequence of abetment then the offender is to be punished with the punishment provided for the original offence.

Headnote:

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Sections 439 and 482 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 306, 506(2), 386, 270, 107 , 271, 201, 120(B) and 114 – Abetment of suicide – Wilfull misrepresentation - Whether appellant had mens rea for crime, he is held to have committed - First informant is son of victim/deceased and engaged in business of road construction and stone quarry is situated and is in name of first informant’s father since - Prosecution case morning, the first informant got a call from his brother informing Manager - First informant on searching quarry along with the Manager and other friends, a torch, slippers and mobile of the father were found - While searching for the father of the first informant, the Manager had informed him morning - father of the first informant had called the Manager and told him that when first informant comes to office, he will give him the note which is kept in the diary of his father - Cash to father of first informant on different by cheques of different banks. Accused no.6 was the owner of Star Group an income tax raid was made on his premises and based on the note of agreement to sell.

Finding of the court : slender distinction with regard to mala fide, illegal and arbitrary exercise of powers by a government servant which may necessitate disciplinary action rather than criminal culpability - There is no allegation with regard to any financial gain or any other illegitimate yields from his action - F.I.R. is blissfully silent about putting the first informant and the deceased in fear of death or grievous hurt. Reliance placed by the first informant on the decision in the case of Arvinder Singh Bagga (supra) is illconceived, since the same operates in different realm as it pertains to grant of compensation to the victims of illegal arrest and torture by the police - Without expressing further anything on merits, in the considered opinion of this Court, the applicant has carved out a case of granting bail in his favour under Section 439 of the Cr.P.C - Allegations, gravity of offences, role attributed to the accused, without discussing the evidence in detail, at this stage - Court is inclined to grant regular bail to the applicant.

Result :Application is allowed

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard the learned advocates for the respective parties through video conferencing.

2. The present application is filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (the Cr.P.C.) in connection with an F.I.R. being C.R. No.A/11214032201643 of 2020 registered with Mandvi Police Station, Dist.Surat for the offences punishable under Sections 306, 506(2), 386, 270, 271, 201, 120(B) and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (the IPC).

3. The facts emerging from the F.I.R. are referred as under:

3.1 The first informant is the son of the victim/deceased and engaged in the business of road construction and stone quarry, which is situated in Khanjroli Gam in Mandvi Taluka and is in the name of first informant’s father since 1982. As per the prosecution case, on 07.09.2020, at around 04:30 a.m. in the morning, the first informant got a call from his brother informing that the Manager i.e. Sandeepbhai has informed that his father was not found and, therefore, the first informant went to the quarry in his car and reached there by 05:45 a.m. and his brother also reached. Thereafter, the first informant on searching the quarry along with the Manager and other friends, a torch, slippers and mobile of the father were found. While searching for the father of the first informant, the Manager had informed him that at 03:45 a.m. in the morning, the father of the first informant had called the Manager and told him that when the first informant comes to the office, he will give him the note which is kept in the diary of his father. Therefore, the first informant asked that if the Manager had read the note to which, he denied and handed over the note to the first informant, which was written by the father of the first informant. It was written in the note that, father of the first informant had a property of 10,218 sq. mtrs. in Adajan, Surat which was sold to accused no.6 viz. Kishorbhai Bhurabhai on 17.03.2015, based on an agreement to sell on a note at Rs.24,03,88,687/- and accused nos.6 and 5 i.e. Kishorbhai Bhurabhai and Kanaiyalal Narola had paid worth Rs.18,00,00,000/- in cash to the father of the first informant on different dates and Rs.3,09,30,584/- by cheques of different banks. Accused no.6 was the owner of Star Group and on 17.08.2016, an income tax raid was made on his premises and based on the note of agreement to sell, there was a tax inquiry on the first informant as well. As a result of the tax inquiry, all the truth was told by the father of the first informant, however, accused no.6 had hidden names of his partners, and therefore, the liability of paying tax of Rs.8,49,49,020/- was on the head of the father of the first informant and further, due to sale deed on the original value, there was additional capital gain tax of Rs.4,80,00,000/- to be paid by the father of the first informant and there was total liability of Rs.13,00,00,000/- incurred on the father of the first informant.

3.2 The father of the first informant had talked to accused no.6, whereby he had assured to pay the same. Thereafter, on 30.01.2019, accused no.6 had sent a legal notice against the promise and statement given in the income tax, to which the father of the first informant had replied through his advocate on 04.02.2019. Thereafter, on 02.01.2020, at around 78 p.m., the police officers came to the house of the first informant and asked the father to come to the Police Station as Police Inspector (i.e. applicant-accused) had called him immediately to which the father of the first informant denied as it was late and his time to have dinner and told that he will come tomorrow. However, the police officials forced him to come and, therefore, the first informant along with his father went to the Police Station where, in the office of the Police Inspector, there were two persons viz. Rajubhai Lakhabhai Bharwad and Hetal Natvarlal Desai (i.e. accused nos.2 and 3), who started abusing the father of the first informant and by then accused no.4 viz.

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