IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that for a charge of abetment under section 306 IPC to stand, there must be clear evidence of abetment as defined under section 107 IPC, which was lacking in this case.

JUDGMENT :

Pankaj Bhatia, J.

1. Heard learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Yogeshwar Saran Srivastava who appears for the informant as well as learned AGA and perused the record.

2. The accused-applicant seeks bail in Case Crime No.148 of 2024 under section 306 IPC, P.S. Kotwali Wazirganj, District Gonda.

3. In terms of the FIR registered under section 306 IPC, it was alleged that the husband of the informant used to run a jewellery shop and kitchen utensils. It was also stated that he has taken certain money advanced from some persons and he had also returned substantial amount along with the interest. It was also stated that on account of harassment for recovery of the money, the husband of the informant had died and his body was recovered along with a suicide note. The said suicide note is on record as Annexure no.5, wherein the deceased had expressed that although he had returned the substantial amount of money along with the interest, he was being harassed. It was also stated that if anything happened against him, the applicant should be liable for that. The cause of death, as per the postmortem report, is ante-mortem firearm injury.

4. In the light of the said material, the counsel for the applicant argues that even accepting the said suicide notice to be gospel truth for the sake of argument, no case can be made under section 306 IPC as there was no abetment at the instance of the applicant as defined under section 107 IPC, as such, the applicant may be enlarged on bail. The criminal history as pointed out by the learned AGA are minor offences.

5. The counsel for the informant strongly opposes the bail application by arguing that the bail application of the co- accused is pending being Bail Application No.5880 of 2024 and this court had directed the FSL verification of the suicide note vide order dated 30.05.2024.

6. Considering the submissions made at the bar, prima-facie in terms of the FIR, the allegations are of commission of offence under section 306 IPC. From the material on record including the suicide note, prima-facie the abetment as defined under section 107 IPC is missing at the instance of the applicant as such, considering the law as explained in the case of the Mariano Anto Bruno and another vs. Inspector of Police; 2022 SCC Online SC 1387 and finding that abetment as defined under section 107 IPC is missing, the applicant who is in custody since 17.04.2024 and the criminal history are of minor offences, the applicant is entitled for the bail. Thus the bail application is allowed.

7. Let the applicant Brajesh Singh Alias Pappu Singh be released on bail in aforesaid first information report number subject to his furnishing a personal bond and two reliable sureties of Rs.20,000/- (Twenty Thousand) each of the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned with the following conditions:

(a) The applicant shall execute a bond to undertake to attend the hearings;

(b) The applicant shall not commit any offence similar to the offence of which he is accused or suspected of the commission; and

(c) The applicant shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence.