The court ruled that mere invocation of legal remedies or being named in a suicide note does not prove abetment without credible evidence linking the accused to the act of instigation.

JUDGMENT (ORAL)

Jasjit Singh Bedi, J. - The prayer in the present petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. is for quashing of case FIR No.35 dated 29.05.2016 under Sections 306 , 34, 120-B IPC and 420 IPC (added later on) registered at Police Station Government Railway Police, Patiala (Annexure P-1) and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom qua the petitioner.

2. The brief facts of the case are that a criminal complaint bearing No.1969/2013 came to be instituted at the instance of the co-accused-Sharanjit Singh (proceedings qua him quashed vide order dated 07.10.2023 passed in CRR-3672-2018) against the deceased-Rajnish Kumar with respect to the dishonour of a cheque bearing No. 871744 dated 01.10.2013 for an amount of Rs.90,000/-. The deceased came to be convicted by the Court of the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Patiala, vide judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 07.07.2015. The finding of the Court was that the cheque was dated 01.10.2013 and was supposed to have been lost on 18.12.2013 whereas the complaint had been filed on 20.11.2013. No evidence had been produced by the accused to substantiate his defence that the cheque had been lost and a DDR had been registered in this regard and that stop payment instructions had been given to the bank. Further, contrary stands had been taken of the cheques having been issued as security viz-a-viz they having been stolen. In the said proceedings, the statement of the deceased (accused therein Rajnish Kumar) was recorded under Section 313 Cr.P.C. and is as under:-

"I am innocent. I have been falsely implicated in present case. The complainant is neither holder nor holder in due course in cheque in question. The cheque in question alongwith other cheques were taken by complainant from me by fraudulent means by complainant and without any sought of legally enforceable debt and liability. I have no outstanding liability or legally enforceable debt towards the complainant. As such there was no occasion for me to submit the instant cheque to the complainant. The instant cheque was given as security towards the loan of acquittance and the complainant has misused the cheque cheques. I am entitled benefit of acquittal".

3. Jaskirat Singh (proceedings qua him quashed vide order dated 07.10.2023 passed in CRM-M-46031-2019), brother of Sharanjit Singh filed a criminal complaint bearing No.1991 dated 21.11.2013 against the deceased-Rajnish Kumar with respect to the dishonour of a cheque bearing No.238130 dated 03.10.2013 for an amount of Rs.1,70,000/-. The deceased came to be convicted by the Court of the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Patiala vide a judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 06.10.2015. In the said proceedings, the statement of the deceased (accused therein Rajnish Kumar) was recorded under Section 313 Cr.P.C. and is as under:-

"I am innocent. I am falsely implicated in this case. I have not taken any loan from anybody as alleged. I am Govt employee and regularly drawing salary per month in GPF account. There was no need of money as alleged at any point of time. Moreover there was no friendly relation between me and complainant and I met complainant first time in this present case. Some cheques in which some signed and some blank has lost for which two DDR has been lodged by me in police. The bank was duly intimated by me to make stop payment with regard to my post cheques. The complainant has found my lost cheques. Since then he is blackmailing me to flee easy money. The cheques are being misused by the complainant and his relatives and his close friends.