IMPORTANT POINT
The main legal point established is that to constitute the offence of abetment of suicide, there must be mens rea and direct or active assistance by the accused, as per the legal principles outlined in various Supreme Court decisions.

ORDER :

1. By way of preferring this application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the applicants seek to invoke the inherent powers of this Court praying for quashing of the FIR being C.R.No.I-24 of 2017 registered with Modasa Rural Police Station for the offence punishable under Sections 306, 504, 506(2) and 114 of the Indian Penal Code and consequential proceedings arising out of the said FIR.

2. The brief facts leading to filing of the present application are as under:

2.1. The complainant is the husband of the deceased and about four months prior to the date of registration of the FIR, complainant’s daughter eloped with one boy viz. Vijay Parmar of the same village and due to the said reason, disputes have been cropped between the two families inter se. It is alleged in the FIR that the accused persons (applicants herein) were the family members of the complainant and they used to admonish the complainant and his wife that their daughter eloped with the boy of the same village, therefore, the act of their daughter tarnished the reputation of the family and they threatened them to bring back their daughter, otherwise, they will have to face dire consequences.

2.2. The complainant made all his best efforts to find out his daughter but could not get success in his attempts and all the efforts have gone in vain. It is the case of the prosecution that on the fateful day, a programme of death anniversary of father of the applicants was organized by the applicants and complainant and his wife were requested to attend the said function but the applicants also invited parents and other relatives of the said boy i.e. Vijay Parmar and therefore complainant and his wife decided not to attend the said function and due to the said action of the complainant, the applicants got enraged and reached to the house of the complainant and threatened them to cut off all the relationship with them as the complainant and his wife had not attended their function. It is also alleged that accused persons have also administered threat to the deceased and her husband about dire consequences and also made accusation upon the deceased that she aided her daughter to elope. The action of the daughter of the deceased is identically similar to her mother and after saying that the applicants left. Thereafter, after some time, the deceased informed to the complainant that she was unable to bear the torture and she wanted to end her life. The complainant thereafter went to sleep outside the house and in the morning he came to know that her wife hanged herself and committed suicide and therefore FIR has been registered against the present applicants accused.

3. Heard learned advocate Mr. Daifraz Havewalla for the applicants, learned APP Mr. L. B. Dabhi for the respondent State. It is found out from the record that the notice issued by this Court is duly served to respondent No.2 – original complainant but he has chosen not to appear and contest the present application.

4. Learned advocate Mr. Daifraz Havewalla submitted that even if the entire case of the prosecution is accepted as true without adding or subtracting anything from it, none of the ingredients to constitute an offence of abetting the commission of suicide are spelt out. He further submitted that the mere threat if at all believed, would not constitute an offence under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. He submitted that there was no instigation within the meaning of section 107 of the Indian Penal Code. He further submitted that daughter of the complainant and deceased had eloped with one boy of the same village and due to which the disputes cropped up between the family members and ultimately the relations have been strained. Learned advocate Mr. Havewalla submitted that it is alleged that due to elopement of the daughter of complainant and deceased with one village boy, the relatives were taunting and threatening them and owing to the said incident, the deceased has committ