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Madhya Pradesh High Court

Virendra Singh vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 11 December, 2017

                             1
 Cr.R. 1275/2017


THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
       Cr.R. No.1275/2017
           (Virendra Singh & Ors. Vs. State of M.P.)
Indore dated : 11/12/2017
     Shri Jitendra Sharma, learned counsel for the petitioners.
     Shri Abhishek Soni, learned Govt. Advocate for the
respondent/State.
                          ORDER

This petition preferred u/s. 397 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (hereinafter, for short, 'the Code') calls in question the legality, propriety and correctness of order dated 14/09/2017 passed by learned IIIrd Additional Sessions Judge, Ujjain in Criminal Case No. 358/2017, whereby charge for offence u/s. 306 read section 34 of the IPC have been framed against each of the petitioners.

2. The petitioners have been prosecuted for offence under Section 306 of the IPC. The allegation against the petitioners is that they had assaulted deceased-Prem singh, therefore, he, feeling insulted, harassed and humiliated, committed suicide by hanging from a tree. As per prosecution, on 20/03/2017, there was quarrel between deceased-Prem Singh on one side and petitioners-Virendra Singh, Praveen Singh, Narendra Singh and Dilip Singh on the other side. Allegedly, deceased Prem Singh was opposing the construction of drain which was being constructed pursuant to a resolution passed by the Gram- Panchayat. The further allegation is that because all these petitioners assaulted the deceased by kicks and fists openly, 2 Cr.R. 1275/2017 therefore, he, feeling harassed and humiliated, committed suicide on 31/03/2017 by hanging himself on a tree.

3. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioners that the allegations made by the deceased in the suicide-note, said to have been left by him, even if accepted in their entirety, do not make out a case u/s. 306 read with Section 107 of the IPC. It is submitted that to constitute abetment within the meaning of Section 107 read with Section 306 of the IPC, there should be instigation, provocation, incitement, suggestion, persuasion or goading to commit suicide and that, the accused must have intended that the deceased commits suicide. Reliance in this regard has been placed on Sanju @ Sanjay Singh Sengar Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 2002 S.C. 1998 and Ramesh Kumar vs. State of Chhatisgarh, (2001) 9 SCC 618. The contention is that even if all the allegations are accepted in their entirety, still the same does not make out a case u/s. 306 read with Section 107 of the IPC.

4. Per contra, it is submitted by the learned Public Prosecutor that prima-facie charge for offence under Section 306/34 of the IPC is made out against the petitioners on the basis of material available in the charge-sheet, therefore, it cannot be said that learned trial Court has committed any legal or factual error in framing the charge for offence under Section 306/34 of the IPC.

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

6. To constitute abetment within the meaning of Section 107 read with Section 306 of the IPC, it must be demonstrated that the accused had instigated, provoked, incited, suggested or goaded the deceased to commit suicide and that, such result was intended by the accused. In a number of decisions, the apex Court has considered whether assault or harassment simplicitor can amount to abetment within the meaning of Section 107 read with Section 306 of the IPC. Each time, the apex Court has answered the issue in negative, stating that harassment or assault simplicitor cannot amount to abetment. In this regard, we can usefully refer to the decision rendered by this Court in M.Cr.C. No.1742/2016 (Bittu @ Girriraj vs. State of M.P., Order dated 08.03.2017, Bench Indore), wherein the legal position has been considered in the light of various pronouncements of Hon'ble the apex Court; relevant paras whereof run as under:

09. 'Abetment to commit suicide' is an offence under Section 306 of IPC punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and fine.

Expression 'Abetment' has been defined in Section 107 of IPC which runs as under :-

"107. Abetment of a thing.-- A person abets the doing of a thing, who- First.- Instigates any person to do that thing; or Secondly.- Engages with one or more other person or persons in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing, if an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy, and in order to the doing of that thing; or Thirdly.-

Intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing. Explanation 1.-A person who, by willful misrepresentation, or by willful concealment of a material fact which he is bound to disclose, voluntarily causes or procures, or attempts to cause or procure, a thing to be done, is said to instigate the doing of that thing. Explanation 2.- Whoever, either prior to or at the time of the commission of an act, does anything in order to facilitate the commission of that act, and thereby facilitates the commission thereof, is said to aid the doing of that act"

10. In the State of Punjab Vs. Iqbal Singh, AIR 1991 SC 1532, the apex Court explaining the meaning and expanse of word 'abetment' as used in Section 107 of IPC, has held as under:

"Abetment" as defined by Section 107 of the IPC comprises (i) instigation to do that thing which is an offence, (ii) engaging in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing, and (iii) intentionally aiding by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing. Section 108 defines an abettor as a person who abets an offence or who abets either the commission of an offence or the commission of an act which would be an offence. The word "instigate" in the literary sense means to incite, set or urge on, stir up, goad, foment, stimulate, provoke, etc. The dictionary meaning of the word "aid" is to give assistance, help etc.

11. In Ramesh Kumar vs. State of Chhatisgarh, (2001) 9 SCC 618, a three 5 Cr.R. 1275/2017 Judge Bench of the apex Court explaining the meaning and connotation of word "instigation" has held as under

( para. 20):

"20. 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. the present one is not a case 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 been inferred. A word uttered in the fit of anger or emotion without intending the consequences to actually follow cannot be said to be instigation."

12. Taking note of the fact that each person's suicidability pattern is different from others and that each person has his own idea of self-esteem and self-respect, the apex Court in M. Mohan Vs. State, Represented by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, 2011 CRI.L.J. 1900 (S.C.), referring to its earlier decision in Chitresh Kumar Chopra Vs. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), 2009 (16) SCC 605, held that to constitute abetment, there should be intention to provoke, incite or encourage the doing of an act by the accused.

13. Reference can also be made to the decision of the apex Court in Gangula Mohan Reddy Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, 2010 (Suppl.) Cr.L.R. (SC) 261, wherein the allegation was that the deceased was beaten by the accused and was also subjected to harassment, due to which he committed suicide by consuming poisonous substance. The apex Court referring to its earlier decisions in Mahendra Singh & Anr. Vs. State of M.P., (1995) Supp. 3 SCC 731 and Ramesh Kumar Vs. State of Chhatisgarh, (2001) 9 SCC 618, holding that offence of abetment to commit suicide under Section 306 of IPC is not made out, observed as under:

"Abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in doing of a thing. Without a positive act on the part of the accused to instigate or aid in committing suicide, conviction cannot be sustained".

14. In Deepak V. State of M.P., 1994 Cri. LJ 767 (M.P.), the deceased girl was threatened with defamation, if she refused to have sexual intercourse with two accused; within an hour she committed suicide leaving a suicidal note. Accepting the plea that the act of the accused might have been a reason for committing suicide but the same did not constitute abatement within the meaning of Section 306 read with Section 107 of the IPC, it was held that -

"neither there was any intention nor any positive act on the part of the accused to instigate her or aid her in committing 7 Cr.R. 1275/2017 suicide. The two accused persons, therefore, cannot be held guilty of the offence under Section 306 of the I.P.C. and their conviction on that count by the trial Court, is liable to be set aside."

15. In the case of Sanju @ Sanjay Singh Sengar Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 2002 S.C. 1998, the accused was charged under Section 306 of IPC for abetting his brother-in-law to commit suicide; the accused allegedly said to him to 'go and die'; the deceased left behind a suicide note stating that accused is responsible for his death. It was held that words "go and die" do not constitute instigation for mens rea of offence under Section 307 of IPC.

16. In Mahendra Singh and Anr. Vs. State of M.P., 1996 Cri.L.J. 894=1995 Supp (3) SCC 731, a case prior to the insertion of Section 113-A in the Evidence Act, the charge under Section 306 IPC proceeded on the basis of dying declaration of the deceased to the effect that -

"My mother-in-law and husband and sister-in-law (husband's elder brother's wife) harassed me. They beat me and abused me. My husband Mahendra wants to marry a second time. He has illicit connections with my sister-in-law. Because of these reasons and being harassed I want to die by burning."

Considering legal sustainability of the same the apex Court held as under:

"Abetment has been defined in Section 107 I.P.C. to mean that a person 8 Cr.R. 1275/2017 abets the doing of a thing who firstly instigates any person to do a thing, or secondly, engages with one or more other person or persons in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing, if an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy, and in order to the doing of that thing, or thirdly, intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing. Neither of the ingredients of abetment are attracted on the statement of the deceased."

17. From the aforesaid pronouncements of the apex Court, it flows that to constitute abetment to commit suicide, there must be material, prima-facie, indicating that accused with a positive act on his part instigated, incited, aided or provoked the person to commit suicide.

18. In Devendra and others vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and another, (2009) 7 SCC 495, it has been held as under:

"when the allegations made in the first information report or the evidences collected during investigation do not satisfy the ingredients of an offence, the superior courts would not encourage harassment of a person in a criminal court for nothing."

7. The facts of the case are required to be considered in the light of the aforesaid legal position. As per prosecution, deceased left a suicide note in which he clearly stated that he was beaten by 4 persons namely, Virendra Singh, Praveen Singh, Narendra Singh and Dilip Singh and therefore, he, 9 Cr.R. 1275/2017 feeling humiliated and harassed, committed suicide. The contents of the suicide note, did not indicate that at any point of time deceased was provoked, incited, goaded or persuaded by the present petitioners to commit suicide. Therefore, even if all the allegations made against the petitioners are accepted in their entirety, still they not make out a case u/s. 306 read with Section 107 of the IPC.

8. The learned trial Court while framing the charge has not considered the aforesaid factual and legal aspects of the matter and has mechanically framed the charge. Therefore, the charge u/s. 306 read with Section 107 of the IPC against the petitioners cannot be sustained.

9. Accordingly, this petition deserves to be and is hereby allowed and the impugned order is hereby set aside and the charge with regard to offence u/s. 306 read with Section 107 of the IPC against the petitioners is hereby quashed.

( VED PRAKASH SHARMA ) JUDGE skt Santosh Digitally signed by Santosh Kumar Tiwari DN: c=IN, o=High Court of Madhya Pradesh, Kumar ou=Administration, postalCode=452010, st=Madhya Pradesh, 2.5.4.20=0302427ede38493e8c0 Tiwari c43f0be7a802b914f6c4be69964f 9f552be6e645bacc8, cn=Santosh Kumar Tiwari Date: 2017.12.13 05:26:29 +05'30'