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Quashes Jaspreet Singh Attempted Suicide FIR Citing
Court Upholds Therapeutic Approach Over Punitive Response
The has quashed criminal proceedings against Jaspreet Singh, who allegedly attempted suicide by shooting himself with a licensed revolver. The court held that the of under , remained , thereby barring prosecution under . Additional charges under and the were also quashed for lacking .
Justice Neerja K. Kalson delivered the judgment on a petition filed under , seeking quashing of FIR No. 24 dated , registered at , District Bathinda.
Presumption of
The court noted that creates a that a person who attempts suicide is under and shall not be tried under the . This provision, read with Section 120 of the Act which gives it , reflects a from penalisation to a , as recognized by the in and .
In the present case, the prosecution’s own FIR and the father’s statement attributed the act to stress from personal and family circumstances. The court found no material on record to displace the presumption, thus rendering the prosecution under unsustainable.
Charge Collapses
The court separately examined the charge under , which requires by , , or as defined under . Since the petitioner was alleged to have attempted suicide himself and no act of abetting another offence was claimed, the charge failed on its statutory ingredients.
Charges Fail for Want of Specific
Relying on the ’s decision in , the judgment clarified that the amended does not penalise the mere use of a firearm; it requires use in of Section 5 or Section 7. No such was alleged; the weapon was a licensed .32 bore revolver belonging to a co-accused, and no prohibited arm or ammunition was involved.
Similarly, for , the ’s ruling in was cited to underscore that a of a specific licence condition or statutory provision must be established. The FIR and investigation failed to identify any such breach.
Cannot Cure Lack of Ingredients
Applying the principle from , the court held that where allegations, even if taken at face value, do not constitute the alleged offences, the criminal process must be quashed. The filing of a does not remedy the absence of .
Key Observations
"The protection under Section 115(1) of the Act, therefore, operates in favour of the petitioner insofar as the allegation under
is concerned, and continuation of the prosecution for the said offence cannot be sustained."
"The mere circumstance that the firearm was licensed in the name of another person cannot, by itself, substitute the statutory requirement of establishing the particular
contemplated by Section 5."
"Completion of investigation and filing of a police report do not cure the absence of the
of an offence."
The Decision
Justice Kalson allowed the petition, quashing FIR No. 24, the dated , and all consequential proceedings against Jaspreet Singh. The court reiterated that the legislative policy under the mandates for persons who attempt suicide, not punishment.
