To establish abetment of suicide under Section 306, the prosecution must prove a specific intent to instigate. Mere evidence of marital discord, domestic quarrels, or emotional stress is insufficient to satisfy the requirement of 'instigation' or 'goading' as defined under Section 107 of the penal code.

ORDER :

Rajesh Kumar Gupta, J.

The present petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. has been filed by the petitioner seeking quashment of FIR registered at Police Station Dehat, District Vidisha, vide Crime No.157/2023 for the offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC and other consequential proceedings arising therefrom pending before the trial Court.

2. The brief facts of the case are that due to an illicit relationship between the petitioner's wife and one Dharmpal Upadhyay, the wife committed suicide on 25.02.2023. Initially, an inquest under Section 174 of Cr.P.C. was initiated, and during the course of the enquiry and after recording statements, the present FIR for the offence under Section 306 of IPC was registered.

3. Counsel for the petitioner submits that even when all the allegations in the FIR and the statements recorded during the investigation are taken at face value, no offence is made out against the petitioner for the abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC. Counsel has drawn the Court's attention to the screenshots (Annexure P/2), which clearly depict an extramarital affair between the deceased and the Dharmpal. This suggests the presence of an independent cause for the deceased's mental distress, wholly unconnected to any conduct attributed to the petitioner. The nature of these screenshots, being unedited and contemporaneous, strongly supports the petitioner's contention that the deceased's emotional turmoil arising from societal pressure, fear of exposure, and the potential public consequences of her actions was the true and proximate cause of her suicide.

4. Further attention is drawn to the photographs and other images depicting a cordial and affectionate relationship between the accused and the deceased, showing that they were living harmoniously as happy couple and had even gone on a family trip shortly before the incident. Therefore, there is no material on record to show that there was any kind of cruelty or harassment on the part of the matrimonial family of the deceased especially by the present petitioner/accused.

5. From the statements of the deceased and her daughter, it is evident that one Dharmpal and his wife Aayna were the frequent visitors of the house of the deceased. On the date of incident also, there was an altercation between Aayna and the deceased over the aforesaid extramarital affair of the deceased and husband of Aayna. Therefore, prima facie, no ingredients of offence under Section 306 of IPC are made out against the petitioner. Even if all the ingredients of the FIR and the statements recorded during the course of investigation are taken to be true at its face value then also no offence is made out against the present petitioner because there is no proximate link between the alleged act of the petitioner and the act of deceased of committing suicide.

6. It is further submitted that the petitioner and the deceased were having very cordial and loving relationship with each other and out of the wedlock they have two children also. The illicit extramarital affair of the deceased with one Dharmpal had come to the knowledge of the petitioner/husband and other persons, that may be only one of the reasons that due to fear of loosing social status, the deceased committed suicide. There was neither any injury on the body of the deceased nor there was any evidence of instigation on the part