The central legal point established in the judgment is the requirement of mens rea and a clear intention to push the deceased into a position leading to suicide in cases of instigation and abetment under Section 306 of the I.P.C.

JUDGMENT

1. This criminal revision under Section 397/401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as the Cr.P.C.) has been filed by the applicants being aggrieved by the order (Annexure A-1) dated 27.11.2019 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Shahdol in S.T. No.41/2019 by which learned trial Court has been framed charge against the applicants under Section 306 of the I.P.C.

2. Prosecution case in brief is that, on 08.09.2019 a dispute arose between the accused Sintu @ Parasram Pal and Sapna, daughter of deceased, over providing a mobile phone. Due to which, on the same day at night at about 22.00 pm, the appellants caused marpeet with the deceased by means of lathis and they instigated the deceased to commit suicide. Thereafter, the deceased committed suicide on 09.09.2019 between 8 am to 9 am in the morning by hanging himself at his house. An FIR was lodged by brother of the deceased on 10.09.2020. After completion of necessary investigation, charge-sheet was filed against the accused persons before the competent Court. Thereafter, charge under Section 306/34 of the I.P.C. was framed against the applicants.

3. Learned counsel for the applicants has submitted that the order of framing charge by the trial Court against the applicants under Section 306 of I.P.C. is bad in law, illegal, incorrect and improper. The applicants have been falsely implicated in the case. It is also submitted that there is no cogent and plausible evidence to indicate that the applicants abetted the deceased to commit suicide. There is no proof to indicate that prior to commission of suicide, the deceased had made any complaint or allegations against the applicants. The allegation made against the applicants are vague, general and frivolous, for framing of charge under Section 306 of I.P.C. Ingredients of Section 107 of the I.P.C. are missing in this case. At the time of framing of charge, the Court is required to evaluate the material and documents available on record. In support of his submission, learned counsel has placed reliance on the decision in the case o f M. Mohan vs. State [Criminal Appeal No.611 of 2011 decided on 01.03.2011 by the Supreme Court of India]. Therefore, it is prayed to set aside the order dated 27.11.2019 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Shahdol in S.T. No.41/2019.

4. On the other hand, learned Panel Lawyer for the State has vehemently opposed the prayer of learned counsel for the applicants and submitted that learned trial Court has rightly framed charge under Section 306 of the I.P.C. against the applicants.

5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

6. The allegation against the applicants is that they instigated the deceased to commit suicide as a result of which he committed suicide.

7. The Supreme Court in the case of Chitresh Kumar Chopra vs. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) reported in (2009) 16 SCC 605, while dealing with the term 'instigation' has held as under :-

"16 instigation is to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or encourage to do an act. To satisfy the requirement of instigation, though it is not necessary that actual words must be used to that effect or what constitutes instigation must necessarily and specifically be suggestive of the consequence.

Yet a reasonable certainty to incite the consequence must be capable of being spelt out. Where the accused had, by his acts or omission or by a continued course of conduct, created such circumstances that the deceased was left with no other option except to commit suicide, in which case, an instigation may have to be inferred. A word uttered in a fit of anger or emotion without intending the consequences to actually follow, cannot be said to be instigation.

17. Thus, to constitute instigation, a person who instigates another has to provoke, incite, urge or encourage the doing of an act by the other by goading or urging forward. The dictionary meaning of the word goad is a thing that stimulates someone into action; provoke to acti