IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT GWALIOR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MILIND RAMESH PHADKE MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 52772 of 2025 PRAVEEN KUMAR SHAKYA Versus THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Appearance:

Shri Deepak Singh Parmar - Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Vineet Saxena - Panel Lawyer for the State.

RESERVED ON :- 28/11/2025 DELIVERD ON :- 2/12/2025 ORDER The present application, under Section 528 of the BNSS has been filed by the applicant - Praveen Kumar for quashment of First Information Report bearing Crime No.199 of 2024 registered at Police Station Antri, District Gwalior for the offence under Section 108 of BNS, as well as all judicial proceedings arising therefrom.

As per prosecution story, informant Devendra Beghal, son of Sultan Singh Baghel, aged 22 years, resident of Ward No. 08 Aatri, presently working as Trackman, Railway Sandalpur, appeared at the police station and lodged an oral report to the effec that on 28.10.2024, at about 12:30 PM, between pole numbers 1205/05 to 1205/01, a female dead body has been found. This information was given to the Station Master, Sandalpur, who informed that the said woman had died after being hit by Train No.12650. The police reached the spot, and from identification made by the residents of Aantri, it was found that the deceased was Smt. Rita, wife of Pankaj Rajak, aged 40 years, resident of Ward No. 13. Upon this information, Merg No.27/24 under Section 194 BNSS was registered and inquiry was initiated. During the merg inquiry, statements of the deceased’s husband Pankaj (39 years), son Piyush (18 years), daughter Himanshi, and father-in-law Purusottam (68 years), residents of Qazi Mohalla, Aantari, were recorded. In their statements, they deposed that the accused/Praveen Shakya had, in January–February 2024, taken ₹4,25,000 from the deceased Rita and her husband Pankaj on the pretext of securing a government job for Pankaj in the Health Department and assured that employment would be provided by June 2024. However, even by June 2024, no job was provided. When the deceased and her husband demanded their money back, the accused kept delaying and avoiding repayment. On 26.10.2024, the deceased Rita along with her son Piyush went to the house of accused/Praveen Shakya to demand their money, where the accused abused them verbally and drove them away. When the deceased returned home, the accused again called her on phone, used abusive language, and stated that he would not return the money. Due to this continuous harassment, humiliation, and mental torture, the deceased became deeply distressed. As a result, on 28.10.2024, the deceased went to the railway track near Aantari and committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. From the merg inquiry, the involvement of the accused in abetting the suicide was found to be established, attracting the offence under Section

108 BNSS.

Learned counsel for the applicant had submitted before this Court that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the present matter, which arises purely out of a civil and monetary dispute between the deceased’s family and the applicant. Even if the allegations contained in the FIR are taken at their face value, they do not satisfy the statutory ingredients of abetment of suicide under Section 108 of the BNSS. The entire prosecution case rests solely on the statements of the deceased’s family members recorded during the merg inquiry, which themselves indicate that the dispute pertains to an alleged monetary transaction relating to facilitation of employment. The dispute, even if assumed to be true, remains civil in nature and cannot be converted into a criminal allegation of instigation or abetment of suicide.

It was further submitted that the prosecution story discloses no proximate, direct, positive or intentional act of instigation by the applicant, nor any mens rea to provoke or compel the deceased to take the drastic step of suicide. Mere monetary disputes, delay in repayment, or verbal altercations—e