Madhya Pradesh High Court
Vivek Dixit Alias Bablu vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 12 March, 2024
Author: Maninder S. Bhatti
Bench: Maninder S. Bhatti
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MANINDER S. BHATTI
ON THE 12 th OF MARCH, 2024
MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 30138 of 2022
BETWEEN:-
VIVEK DIXIT ALIAS BABLU S/O LATE AHSOK KUMAR,
AGED ABOUT 46 YEARS, HOUSE NO.194, INDUS EMPIRE,
SHAHPURA BHOPAL (MADHYA PRADESH)
.....APPLICANT
(BY SHRI DHARMENDRA KUMAR KAURAB - ADVOCATE )
AND
1. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH THROUGH
POLICE STATION KAMLA NAGAR BHOPAL
(MADHYA PRADESH)
2. ISLAM KHAN S/O LATE LAL KHAN, AGED ABOUT
58 YEARS, R/O H.NO. 856 GINNORI KAMLA NAGAR
PARK BHOPAL M.P. (MADHYA PRADESH)
.....RESPONDENTS
(SHRI SANJEEV SINGH PARIHAR - PANEL LAWYER FOR THE STATE )
(SHRI MOHD. SHAFIQULLAH - ADVOCATE FOR RESPONDENT NO.2)
MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 20083 of 2021
BETWEEN:-
RAVI BAJPAI S/O SHRI GYANSWAROOP BAJPAI, AGED
ABOUT 61 YEARS, OCCUPATION: GOVT. SERVANT R/O
MIG-44, HARSHWARDHAN NAGAR, BHOPAL M.P DISTT.
(MADHYA PRADESH)
.....APPLICANT
(BY SHRI IMTIYAZ HUSSAIN - SENIOR COUNSEL ASSISTED BY SHRI
MOHD. SAJID KHAN - ADVOCATE )
AND
1. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH THR P.S.
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: PRADYUMNA
BARVE
Signing time: 3/15/2024
7:33:47 PM
2
KAMLA NAGAR DISTT.BHOPAL M.P (MADHYA
PRADESH)
2. ISLAM KHAN S/O LATE LAL KHAN, AGED ABOUT
58 YEARS, HOUSE NO. 856 GINNORI KAMLA
NAGAR PARK (MADHYA PRADESH)
.....RESPONDENTS
(SHRI SANJEEV SINGH PARIHAR - PANEL LAWYER FOR THE STATE )
(SHRI MOHD. SHAFIQULLAH - ADVOCATE FOR RESPONDENT NO.2)
MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 45787 of 2021
BETWEEN:-
RAJNISH DUVEY S/O SHRI RAMESH DUBEY, AGED
ABOUT 34 YEARS, OCCUPATION: GOVT. EMPLOYEE R/O
96/61 TULSI NAGAR BHOPAL DISTT. BHOPAL M.P.
(MADHYA PRADESH)
.....APPLICANT
(BY SHRI QUAIM ALI - ADVOCATE )
AND
1. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH THR. P.S.
KAMLA NAGAR DISTT. BHOPAL (MADHYA
PRADESH)
2. ISLAM KHAN S/O LATE LAL KHAN, AGED ABOUT
58 YEARS, R/O H.NO.856, GINNORI KAMLA NAGAR
PARK (MADHYA PRADESH)
.....RESPONDENTS
(SHRI SANJEEV SINGH PARIHAR - PANEL LAWYER FOR THE STATE )
(SHRI MOHD. SHAFIQULLAH - ADVOCATE FOR RESPONDENT NO.2)
This application coming on for admission this day, the court passed the
following:
ORDER
This order shall govern the disposal of all the aforesaid cases.
2. These petitions have been filed by the applicants invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. for quashing the First Information Report registered against the applicants vide Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRADYUMNA BARVE Signing time: 3/15/2024 7:33:47 PM 3 Crime No. 121/2021 at Police Station Kamla Nagar, Bhopal for the offence punishable under Section 306,34 of the Indian Penal Code and its consequential proceedings.
3. Learned Senior Counsel appearing for applicant Ravi Bajpai in M.Cr.C. No. 20083 of 2021 submits that the FIR in question has been registered against all the applicants on the ground that the deceased committed suicide leaving behind a suicide note alleging that as the present applicants had made a complaint in the matter of mutation of the shop in favour of the deceased, therefore, he was committing suicide. Senior Counsel contends that according to the prosecution, the deceased had purchased a shop i.e. Shop No.1, situated at Harshwardhan Shopping Complex, Mata, Mandir, Bhopal from one Shri Gyanswaroop Bajpai, who was the father of applicant Ravi Bajpai. However, on the basis of so called sale-deed, no mutation was ever carried out. The legal heirs of Shri Gyanswaroop Bajpai had not given any consent regarding said transaction and thus there was civil dispute, which was highlighted by the applicant vide legal notice Annexure P-8 to the Municipal Authorities. It is further contended that the suicide note alleged to have been left by the deceased, nowhere reflects that the applicant had instigated the deceased to commit suicide. The act, so alleged, was not even remotely connected with the commission of suicide by the deceased. The suicide note cannot be made basis to prosecute the applicant under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. Senior Counsel while referring the provisions of Sections 107 and 306 of the Indian Penal Code submits that the entire prosecution is liable to be quashed. To bolster the aforesaid submissions, Senior Counsel has placed reliance on the decision of the Apex Court in Rajesh v. State of Haryana - AIR 2019 SC 478. Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRADYUMNA BARVE Signing time: 3/15/2024 7:33:47 PM 4
4. The counsel appearing for applicant Vivek Dixit @ Bablu in M.Cr.C. No. 30318 of 2022 submits that the present applicant has also been falsely implicated in the case. He has no connection with the shop in question. Unfortunately, on the basis of so called suicide note, the present applicant has been enroped in the case. It is also contended that there is no allegation of incitement or instigation against the present applicant so as to frame charge under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. Apart from the aforesaid submission, the counsel has supported the contentions advanced by learned Senior Counsel in M.Cr.C. No.20083 of 2021.
5. The counsel appearing for applicant Rajnish Dubey in M.Cr.C. No. 45787 of 2021 submits that the prosecution of the applicant in the present case is unsustainable as even in the suicide note there is no allegation against the applicant, on the contrary as per the suicide note, two persons were responsible for death of the deceased i.e. Ravi Bajpai and Vivek Dixit @ Bablu, yet the present applicant is being prosecuted in the matter. It is further contended that the present applicant has also placed on record a communication dated 13.5.2021 (Annexure A-4), which has been issued by the Municipal Corporation, Bhopal and addressed to the Superintendent of Police, which reveals that the present applicant was relieved on 25.8.2020 and he was not posted at Ward No. 30 and the Municipal Authorities also informed Police officials that the present applicant had no connection with the mutation of name of the deceased in respect of the property in question. The counsel, thus submits that entire proceedings against the present applicant are liable to be quashed. The counsel has placed reliance on the decisions of the Apex Court in Amalendu Pal v. State of W.B. - (2010) 1 SCC 707, Madan Mohan Singh Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRADYUMNA BARVE Signing time: 3/15/2024 7:33:47 PM 5 v. State of Gujarat - (2010) 8 SCC 628, Prabhu Vs. State (SLP (Crl) Diary 39981/2022) and Shabbir Hussain Vs. State (Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) 7284/2017).
6. Per contra, the counsel for the State as well as the counsel for the objector submit that all these petitions are liable to be dismissed as there are direct allegations against the applicants in the suicide note and on account of torture at the behest of the applicants, the deceased committed suicide. It is also submitted that apart from the suicide note there are statements of son and wife of the deceased namely Yasin Khan and Sameen Khan, which show that all the applicants were instrumental in creating such circumstances, which dragged the deceased to commit suicide. It is contended that the deceased despite having purchased the property by executing sale-deed, was not in a position to get his name mutated. A caucus was created by the applicants and applicant Rajnish Dubey, who was employed with the Municipal Corporation, left no stone unturned to ensure that the property in question is not mutated in the name of the deceased. It is further contended that applicant Ravi Bajpai is disputing the sale-deed executed by his father as an afterthought whereas the sale-deed was executed by late father of applicant Ravi Bajpai upon receiving entire amount of consideration. Unfortunately, as the mutation earlier could not be carried out, subsequently, the present applicants made efforts to ensure that the property in question is not mutated in the name of the deceased. In view of the aforesaid submissions, it is submitted that all the petitions are liable to be dismissed.
7. No other point is pressed or argued by the counsel for the parties.
8. Heard the submissions advanced on behalf of the parties and perused the case diary.
9. In the present cases, the deceased committed suicide by hanging Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRADYUMNA BARVE Signing time: 3/15/2024 7:33:47 PM 6 himself on 14.2.2021. The deceased while committing suicide left behind a suicide note, in which the deceased levelled allegations against the present applicants as his name was not being mutated in respect of the shop in question and after 21 years, applicants made complaint in the matter of mutation and the applicants were harassing the deceased. The deceased in the suicide note mentioned that accused Ravi Bajpai was affixing pamphlets everywhere in order to defame him wherein the number of the shop in question was also mentioned.
10. Apart from the suicide note, the statement of son of the deceased namely Yasin Khan is also available on record, which reflects that the deceased could not get his name mutated despite there being a sale-deed in his favour, as accused Ravi Bajpai raised objection regarding mutation in the name of the deceased. It is further reflected from the statement of son of the deceased that applicant Rajnish Dubey came to the house of the deceased and asked for papers of the property in question. The papers were handed over to him by the deceased and later on, applicant Rajnish Dubey informed the deceased that an objection has been filed by applicant Ravi Bajpai. Applicant Rajnish Dubey also came to the shop of the deceased and threatened him that he would be evicted and the shop would be taken back by the Municipal Corporation. It was further stated by Yasin Khan in his statement that all the accused persons used to meet in the neighbouring shop and thereafter they used to come to the shop of the deceased in order to create hindrance. The statement of son of the deceased reflects that accused Ravi Kumar, who was the employee of M.P. Electricity Board also got the electricity supply of the shop disconnected while using his sources and all such circumstances behoved his father to commit suicide.
11. The statements of daughter as well as wife of the deceased are also Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRADYUMNA BARVE Signing time: 3/15/2024 7:33:47 PM 7 available on record and as per their statements, the present applicants time and again obstructed the deceased from running his shop/business and the son of the deceased also witnessed the said events as he used to sit in the said shop.
12. Thus, in the present case, the accused persons not only created such circumstances that the deceased was left with no other option except to commit suicide and, therefore, it is a case where the instigation has to be inferred by taking into consideration the act on the part of the applicants. It is trite that for bringing an offence within the ambit of Sections 107, 306 of the Indian Penal Code, there has to be instigation/incitement, which resulted in doing of a thing and unless and until there is instigation or incitement, the offence under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code does not come into play.
13. The Apex Court in the case of Ramesh Kumar Vs. State of Chhattisgarh - (2001) 9 SCC 618 while dealing with the term "Instigation" held in Paragraph 20 as under:-
"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."Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRADYUMNA BARVE Signing time: 3/15/2024 7:33:47 PM 8
14. A perusal of aforesaid law laid down by the Apex Court reveals that t o satisfy the requirement of instigation, instigation must necessarily and specifically be suggestive of the consequence. The Apex Court while dealing with the allegation in the aforesaid case further observed that it was 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.
15. If the aforesaid analysis is applied in the present case, it would reveal that as per the suicide note as well as statements of the witnesses there was continuous course of conduct at the behest of the applicants, which created such circumstances in which the deceased was left with no other option but to commit suicide. It is evident from the allegations levelled in the statement of the son of the deceased that on number of occasions, the present applicants used to come to the shop and obstructed the running of the shop/business of the deceased. The applicants also threatened to evict the deceased from the shop. Even the applicants were instrumental in disconnecting the electricity of the shop of the deceased and this repeated conduct at the behest of the applicants behoved the deceased to commit suicide as deceased was finding himself helpless.
1 6 . The applicants cannot seek assistance on the basis of aforesaid decisions in view of distinguishable facts and circumstances of the present case.
17. In view of the aforesaid, this Court is not inclined to interfere with the impugned FIR or ensued proceedings.
18. Resultantly, the petitions being devoid of merits, are hereby Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRADYUMNA BARVE Signing time: 3/15/2024 7:33:47 PM 9 dismissed. No costs.
(MANINDER S. BHATTI) JUDGE PB Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRADYUMNA BARVE Signing time: 3/15/2024 7:33:47 PM