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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
RAJESH SINGH CHAUHAN, J.
Kiran Singh - Applicant
Versus
State Of U.P. and Anr. - Opposite Parties
Criminal MISC Anticipatory Bail Application U/S 438 CR.P.C. No. 9345 Of 2021
Decided On : 29-09-2022

Advocates Appeared:
For the Applicant : Diwakar Singh, Alka Singh, Anand Kumar Kaushal, Jitendra Kumar Tripathi, Nadeem Murtaza, Vimal Kishor Singh.
For the Opposite Parties : G.A., Ashish Kumar Mishra, Pramod Kumar Shukla, Vijay Prakash Mishra.

The central legal point established in the judgment is the necessity of proving the intention and involvement of the accused to aid or instigate the commission of suicide, and the requirement of a positive action proximate to the time of occurrence on the part of the accused in cases of abetment of suicide.

Headnote:

306 IPC - Anticipatory Bail - [Madan Mohan Singh Vs. State of Gujrat (2010) 8 SCC 628, Rajesh Vs. State of Haryana (2020) 15 SCC 359, Arnab Manoranjan Goswami Vs. State of Maharashtra (2021) 2 SCC 427] - The court discussed the basic ingredients of Section 306 IPC, emphasizing the necessity of intention and involvement of the accused to aid or instigate the commission of suicide. It highlighted the requirement of a positive action proximate to the time of occurrence on the part of the accused, and the need to prove and establish the act of abetment by the person charged with the said offence.

Fact of the Case:

The applicant sought anticipatory bail in a case where she was apprehending arrest under Section 306 IPC for allegedly abetting the suicide of the victim, who was her daughter-in-law.

Finding of the Court:

The court protected the liberty of the applicant till the completion of the investigation and filing of the chargesheet, considering the arguments of the parties, contents and allegation of the FIR, other material available on record, and the undertaking of the applicant to cooperate with the investigation.

Issues: The main issue was whether the applicant could be implicated under Section 306 IPC for allegedly abetting the suicide of the victim.

Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the judgments of Madan Mohan Singh, Rajesh, and Arnab Manoranjan Goswami to emphasize the necessity of intention and involvement of the accused to aid or instigate the commission of suicide, and the requirement of a positive action proximate to the time of occurrence on the part of the accused.

Final Decision: The court granted anticipatory bail to the applicant with specific conditions to protect the liberty of the applicant till the conclusion of the trial.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Nadeem Murtaza, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri S.P. Tiwari, learned Additional Government Advocate for the State. No one has appeared on behalf of the complainant nor any adjournment slip has been moved.

2. As per learned counsel for the applicant, the present applicant is apprehending her arrest in FIR No. 111 of 2021, under Section 306 IPC, Police Station Cantt, Lucknow East, District Lucknow.

3. Learned counsel for the applicant has further submitted that the applicant has falsely been implicated in this case as she has not committed any offence, as alleged in the prosecution story.

4. The attention has been drawn towards the impugned FIR which has been lodged on 15.07.2021, wherein the allegation has been levelled against the present applicant that on the basis of instigation of the present applicant, the victim has committed suicide. The basis of such allegation is one suicide note of the victim which was send to the social media. As per the suicide note, the victim has indicated that the responsible person for suicide of the victim is the present applicant who is mother-in-law of the victim.

5. Sri Nadeem Murtaza, learned counsel for the applicant has placed reliance on the judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in Re:Madan Mohan Singh Vs. State of Gujrat and Another reported in (2010) 8 SCC 628; Rajesh Vs. State of Haryana reported in (2020) 15 SCC 359; and Arnab Manoranjan Goswami Vs. State of Maharashtra and Others reported in (2021) 2 SCC 427, by submitting that the basic ingredients of Section 306 IPC are suicidal death and abetment thereof. To constitute abetment, intention and involvement of accused to aid or instigate commission of suicide is imperative. Any severance or absence of any of these constituents would militate against said indictment. For the convenience, Para 10 and 14 in Re: Madan Mohan Singh (supra) are being reproduced below:

    "10. We are convinced that there is absolutely nothing in this suicide note or the FIR which would even distantly be viewed as an offence much less under Section 306 IPC. We could not find anything in the FIR or in the so-called suicide note which could be suggested as abetment to commit suicide. In such matters there must be an allegation that the accused had instigated the deceased to commit suicide or secondly, had engaged with some other person in a conspiracy and lastly, that the accused had in any way aided any act or illegal omission to bring about the suicide.

14. As regards the suicide note, which is a document of about 15 pages, all that we can say is that it is an anguish expressed by the driver who felt that his boss (the accused) had wronged him. The suicide note and the FIR do not impress us at all. They cannot be depicted as expressing anything intentional on the part of the accused that the deceased might commit suicide. If the prosecutions are allowed to continue on such basis, it will be difficult for every superior officer even to work."

(emphasis supplied)

6. Para 9 in of the judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in Re: Rajesh (supra) is being reproduced herein-below:

    "9. Conviction under Section 306 IPC is not sustainable on the allegation of harassment without there being any positive action proximate to the time of occurrence on the part of the accused, which led or compelled the person to commit suicide. In order to bring a case within the purview of Section 306 IPC, there must be a case of suicide and in the commission of the said offence, the person who is said to have abetted the commission of suicide must have played an active role by an act of instigation or by doing certain act to facilitate the commission of suicide. Therefore, the act of abetment by the person charged with the said offence must be proved and established by the prosecution before he could be convicted under Section 306 IPC. (See Amalendu Pal alias Jhantu v. State of West Bengal)."

(emphasis supplied)

7. On the basis of aforesaid submissions, Sri Nadeem Murtaza

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