Gujarat High Court
Sarojben W/O Rajnikant Pralhadbhai ... vs State Of Gujarat on 30 April, 2024
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CRIMINAL APPLICATION (QUASHING) NO. 9314 of
2016
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DIVYESH A. JOSHI
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1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be
allowed to see the judgment ?
2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ?
3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the
fair copy of the judgment ?
4 Whether this case involves a substantial
question of law as to the interpretation
of the Constitution of India or any order
made thereunder ?
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SAROJBEN W/O RAJNIKANT PRALHADBHAI PUROHIT & ANR.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
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Appearance:
DARSHIT R BRAHMBHATT(8011) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
DIPTESH R BRAHMBHATT(8407) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
HCLS COMMITTEE(4998) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MS. ALKA B VANIYA(6945) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR HARDIK SONI, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DIVYESH A. JOSHI
Date : 30/04/2024
ORAL JUDGMENT
1. By way of preferring present petition under Page 1 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the petitioners have prayed to quash and set aside FIR being C.R.No.I-78 of 2016 registered with Kheda Town Police Station for the offences punishable under Section 498A, 306 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code and the proceedings of Criminal Case No.839 of 2016 pending before the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Kheda, arising out of the aforesaid FIR, qua the petitioners.
2. Heard Mr. Darshit Brahmbhatt, learned advocate for the petitioners, Mr. Hardik Soni, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent - State and Ms. Alka Vaniya, learned advocate for the respondent No.2 - original complainant.
3. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt submits that FIR is filed by the complainant against total five accused persons. The accused No.1 is the husband, accused Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are the mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law respectively of the deceased. The present petition is filed by the original accused Nos. 4 and 5 i.e. the brother-in-law and sister-in-law respectively of the deceased. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt further submits that pursuant to the FIR filed by the complainant, the investigating officer has carried out investigation and ultimately at the end of the day filed charge-sheet against the accused persons before the concerned Court. Learned advocate Mr. Page 2 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined Brahmbhatt further submits that after submission of the charge-sheet, the petitioners i.e. the brother- in-law and sister-in-law respectively of the deceased have preferred present petition and at the time of issuing notice on 14.12.2016, the Coordinate Bench of this Court has passed an order whereby the proceedings of Criminal Case No.839 of 2016 pending before the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Kheda have been stayed qua the petitioners. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt submits that qua rest of the accused persons, the trial was proceeded with and ultimately at the end of the day, after recording evidence of all the witnesses as well as evaluating the material available on record, the learned Sessions Judge concerned has passed an order of acquittal so far as main accused persons are concerned. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt further submits that if this Hon'ble Court would make cursory glance upon the allegations levelled against the accused persons in the charge-sheet papers, in that event, it would be found out that the allegations levelled against the petitioners are vague and general in nature. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt further submits that the accused Nos. 1 to 3 mentioned in the FIR are the main accused persons whose role is graver than the role alleged to have been played by the present petitioners and those persons have already been acquitted by the concerned Trial Court after conducting full-fledged trial. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt submits that as per Page 3 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined his knowledge, till date appeal is not preferred by the State by challenging the said order of acquittal.
3.1. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt further submits that span of marriage life of the deceased and accused No.1 (husband) is 17 months and specific allegations were levelled against the accused persons that during the span of their marriage life, as the deceased has not conceived pregnancy, the accused persons used to taunt her, due to which, during the interregnum period, on number of occasions deceased had gone to her parental home and thereafter on persuasion being made by the family members and relatives, she had been sent back to her matrimonial home by her family members. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt submits that on the fateful day of incident, it is alleged that some disputes came to be cropped up between the family members for doing some domestic activities and due to which deceased has committed suicide. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt submits that if this Hon'ble Court would go through the allegations levelled in the FIR as well as statements of the witnesses, in that event, it would be found out that no any specific incident is highlighted on the basis of which on the fateful day of incident, the deceased has committed suicide. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt further submits that there was no mens rea on the part of the accused persons to commit the offence. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt further submits that petitioner No.1 is Page 4 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined the sister-in-law of the deceased and she is married and span of her marriage life is nearly about five years and during the said period she did not conceive pregnancy and therefore it is highly improbable on the part of the petitioner No.1 to taunt the deceased regarding non-conceiving the pregnancy within a span of marriage life of 17 months. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt further submits that if this Hon'ble Court would go through the charge-sheet papers, in that event, it would be found out that petitioners have not intended the deceased to commit suicide and there was no mens rea on the part of the petitioners to commit the offence. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt submits that the word 'instigation' is clearly defined by the Hon'ble Apex Court in number of cases. He further submits that 'instigation' means to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or encourage to do 'an act' and 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. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt further submits that at the time of invocation of the provisions of Section 306 of the IPC, the prosecution has to prove that there was direct involvement of the accused persons in the commission of crime, which ultimately led the deceased to commit suicide and deceased has no other option but to commit suicide and those set Page 5 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined of evidences are required to be brought on record at the time of submission of charge-sheet against the accused persons. Admittedly, at the time of submission of charge-sheet, the prosecuting agency has put reliance upon certain statements of the witnesses as well as material available on record. If this Hon'ble Court would make cursory glance upon those set of evidences, in that event, it would be found out that allegations levelled against the petitioners are vague and general in nature. Learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt has put reliance upon the decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Velmurugan v. State represented by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, reported in (2011) 3 SCC 626 and submitted that considering the principle of law enunciated by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the above stated case law, the proceedings instituted against the present petitioners are required to be quashed and set aside.
4. Learned advocate Ms. Alka Vaniya, who appears on behalf of original complainant, has opposed present petition with vehemence and submitted that the role of the present petitioners is quite different and dissimilar than the role of the other accused persons and if this Hon'ble Court would go through the police papers, in that event, it would be found out that within short span of marriage life, on number of occasions the deceased had to go to her parental home due to constant and incessant harassment meted out to Page 6 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined her by the members of the in-laws, and more particularly, present petitioners. Therefore, direct and active involvement of the present petitioners in commission of crime is clearly found out. Hence, proceedings qua the present petitioners are not required to be terminated.
5. Learned APP Mr. Hardik Soni has objected present application with vehemence and he has adopted the arguments canvassed by learned advocate Ms. Alka Vaniya and submitted that considering the above stated factual aspects, proceedings qua the present petitioners may not be quashed and set aside.
6. Having heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties and having gone through the material placed on record, it is found out from the record that the petitioners have been arraigned as accused in connection with FIR being C.R.No.I-78 of 2016 registered with Kheda Town Police Station for the offences punishable under Section 498A, 306 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code. It is the case of the prosecution that the wife of original accused No.1 committed suicide on account of the constant and incessant harassment meted out to her by the members of her in-laws. The span of marriage life of the deceased and accused No.1 (husband) is 17 months and specific allegations were levelled against the accused persons that during the span of their marriage life, as the deceased has not conceived, the Page 7 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined accused persons used to taunt her, due to which, during the interregnum period, on number of occasions, deceased left her matrimonial home and gone to her parental home and thereafter on persuasion being made by the family members and relatives, she had been sent back to her matrimonial home by her family members. It is found out from the police papers that on the fateful day of incident, some disputes came to be cropped up between the family members of the deceased for doing some domestic activities, due to which, the deceased has committed suicide and therefore FIR came to be registered by the brother of the deceased against total five accused persons i.e. the husband, mother- in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in- law respectively of the deceased. It is pertinent to note that present petitioners are the sister-in-law and brother-in-law of the deceased. The rest of the accused persons have been tried by the learned Sessions Judge concerned and after considering and appreciating the evidences in the form of oral as well as documentary and other material placed on record, the learned Sessions Judge concerned jumped to the conclusion to acquit the rest of the accused persons from the charges levelled against them. Hence, it can safely be said that the main accused persons i.e. the husband, mother-in-law and father- in-law of the deceased have been acquitted by the concerned Sessions Judge after full fledged trial. A copy of the judgment of other co-accused persons has Page 8 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined been produced on record by learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt. Admittedly, during the course of trial, there was no compromise took place between the parties and all the witnesses have supported the version of the prosecution and not a single witness has turned hostile, however the prosecution could not be able to successfully prove the charges levelled against the accused persons. In short, prosecution has miserably failed to prove the charges levelled against the accused persons by leading sufficient evidence based on which commission of crime by the accused persons can be proved beyond reasonable doubt and that is why the learned Judge concerned has passed an order of acquittal assigning reasons that sufficient evidence have not been found to prove the charges levelled against the accused persons. It is also an admitted position of fact that petitioner No.1 is the sister-in-law and petitioner No.2 is the brother-in-law of the deceased and as per the case of the prosecution, main allegations are levelled against the husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law of the deceased and trial qua those accused persons was proceeded with wherein charges levelled against those accused persons have not been proved. The role of the present petitioners is lesser compare to other co-accused persons, who have already been acquitted by the concerned trial Court, after full-fledged trial.
7. At the time of deciding present petition, this Page 9 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined Court is of the opinion that before adverting into the issue involved in the matter, the definition of 'abetment of suicide' is required to be reproduced, which is as under:
"306. Abetment of suicide.--If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine."
7.1. The Abetment is defined under Section 107 of IPC, which reads 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 wilful misrepresentation, or by wilful 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."Page 10 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024
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8. At this juncture, I would like to refer to the decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in case of Mohit Singhal & Anr. v. The State of Uttarakhand & Others rendered in Criminal Appeal No.3578 of 2023, wherein the Hon'ble Apex Court has very succinctly crystallized the position of law insofar as Sections 306 and 107 of the Indian Penal Code are concerned. The Hon'ble Apex Court has observed in para 9, 10 and 11 as under:
"9. In the facts of the case, secondly and thirdly in Section 107, will have no application. Hence, the question is whether the appellants instigated the deceased to commit suicide. To attract the first clause, there must be instigation in some form on the part of the accused to cause the deceased to commit suicide. Hence, the accused must have mens rea to instigate the deceased to commit suicide. The act of instigation must be of such intensity that it is intended to push the deceased to such a position under which he or she has no choice but to commit suicide. Such instigation must be in close proximity to the act of committing suicide.
10. In the present case, taking the complaint of the third respondent and the contents of the suicide note as correct, it is impossible to conclude that the appellants instigated the deceased to commit suicide by demanding the payment of the amount borrowed by the third respondent from her husband by using abusive language and by assaulting him by a belt for that purpose. The said incident allegedly happened more than two weeks before the date of suicide. There is no allegation that any act was done by the appellants in the close proximity to proximity to the date of suicide. By no stretch Page 11 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined of the imagination, the alleged acts of the appellants can amount to instigation to commit suicide. The deceased has blamed the third respondent for landing in trouble due to her bad habits.
11. Therefore, in our considered view, the offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC was not made out against the appellants. Therefore, the continuation of their prosecution will be nothing but an abuse of the process of law."
9. As observed by the Hon'ble Apex Court, to attract the first clause of Section 107 IPC, there must be instigation in some form on the part of the accused to cause the deceased to commit suicide. Hence, the accused must have mens rea to instigate the deceased to commit suicide. The act of instigation must be of such intensity that it is intended to push the deceased to such a position under which he or she has no choice but to commit suicide. Such instigation must be in close proximity to the act of committing suicide. If the facts of the present case are considered in the context of the aforesaid observations made by the Hon'ble Apex Court, in that event, by no stretch of imagination, the alleged acts of the petitioners can amount to instigation to commit suicide.
10. It is pertinent to note that the petitioners are sister-in-law and brother-in-law of the deceased and as submitted by learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt that the petitioner No.1 is also married and during the period of her marriage span of approximately five Page 12 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined years, she could not conceive and therefore it is highly improbable on her part to taunt the deceased regarding non-conceiving within the short span of 17 months of her marriage life. Moreover, from the charge-sheet papers, it is found out that the allegations levelled against the petitioners are vague and general in nature and it cannot be said that there was any intention on the part of the petitioners to abet the commission of suicide by the deceased who is their family member and therefore no mens rea can be attributed. Thus, in the opinion of this Court, the very element of abetment is missing from the allegations levelled in the FIR and in absence of the element of abetment from the allegations, the offence under Section 306 IPC would not be attracted. It is also pertinent to note that the possibility of deceased being hyper sensitive and unable to control her emotions which led her to take an ultimate decision to commit suicide also cannot be ruled out.
11. At this stage, I would like to refer to the decision rendered by this Court in the case of Lalitbhai Vikramchand Parekh v. State of Gujarat, Criminal Misc. Application No.16032 of 2014 and allied matters decided on 10th April, 2015, wherein the following observations were made:
19. In case of suicide how the evidence is required to be appreciated has been stated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in number of Page 13 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined judgments. In State of West Bengal v. Orilal Jaiswal, (1994) 1 SCC 73, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has cautioned that the Court should be extremely careful in assessing the facts and circumstances of each case and the evidence adduced in the trial for the purpose of finding whether the cruelty meted out to the victim had in fact induced her to end the life by committing suicide. If it appears to the court that a victim committing suicide was hypersensitive to ordinary petulance, discord and differences in domestic life quite common to the society to which the victim belonged and such petulance, discord and differences were not expected to induce a similarly circumstanced individual in a given society to commit suicide, the conscience of the court should not be satisfied for basing a finding that the accused charged of abetting the offence of suicide should be found guilty. Further the Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), (2009) 16 SCC 605 had an occasion to deal with this aspect of abetment. The Court dealt with the dictionary meaning of the words "instigation" and "goading". The Court opined that there should be intention to provoke, incite or encourage the doing of an act by the latter.
Each person's suicidability pattern is different from the other. Each person has his own idea of self esteem and self respect. Therefore, it is impossible to lay down any straitjacket formula in dealing with such cases. Each case has to be decided on the HC-NIC Page 10 of 15 Created On Sun Dec 06 01:54:01 IST 2015 R/CR.MA/6788/2015 ORDER basis of its own facts and circumstances.
20. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of Amalendu Pal @ Jhantu vs. State of West Bengal, 2010 AIR(SC) 512, after considering various earlier judgments in para 15 observed that, "15. Thus, this Court has consistently taken the view that before holding an accused guilty of an offence under Section 306 IPC, Page 14 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined the Court must scrupulously examine the facts and circumstances of the case and also assess the evidence adduced before it in order to find out whether the cruelty and harassment meted out to the victim had left the victim with no other alternative but to put an end to her life. It is also to be borne in mind that in cases of alleged abetment of suicide there must be proof of direct or indirect acts of incitement to the commission of suicide. Merely on the allegation of harassment without their being any positive action proximate to the time of occurrence on the part of the accused which led or compelled the person to commit suicide, conviction in terms of Section 306 IPC is not sustainable."
"16. In order to bring a case within the purview of Section 306 of IPC there must be a case of suicide and in the commission of the said offence, the person who is said to have abetted the commission of suicide must have played an active role by an act of instigation or by doing certain act to facilitate the commission of suicide. Therefore, the act of abetment by the person charged with the said offence must be proved and established by the prosecution before he could be convicted under Section 306 IPC."
21. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Randhir Singh v. State of Punjab, (2004) 13 SCC 129 has reiterated the legal position as regards Section 306 IPC which is long settled in para 12 and 13. Para 12 and 13 reads thus :
"12. Abetment involves a mental process of instigation a person or intentionally aiding that person in doing of a thing. In cases of conspiracy also it would involve that mental process of entering into conspiracy for the doing of that thing. More active role which can be described as instigating or aiding the Page 15 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined doing of a thing is required before a person can be said to be abetting the commission of offence under Section 306 IPC.
13. In State of W. B. v. Orilal Jaiswal this Court has observed that the courts should be extremely careful in assessing the facts and circumstances of each case and the evidence adduced in the trial for the purpose of finding whether the cruelty meted out to the victim had in fact induced her to end the life by committing suicide. If it transpires to the court that a victim committing suicide was hypersensitive or ordinary petulance, discord and differences in domestic life quite common to the society to which the victim belongs and such HC-NIC Page 11 of 15 Created On Sun Dec 06 01:54:01 IST 2015 R/CR.MA/6788/2015 ORDER petulance, discord and differences were not expected to induce a similarly circumstances individual in a given society to commit suicide, the conscience of the court should not be satisfied for basing a finding that the accused charged of abetting the offence of suicide should be found guilty."
22. In Gcngula Mohan Reddy v. State of A.P., (2010) 1 SCC 750 the Supreme Court while interpreting Section 306 IPC held that:
"Abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in doing of a thing and without a positive act on the part of the accused to instigate or aid in committing suicide, there cannot be any conviction. It was further held that to attract Section 306 IPC there has to be a clear mens tea to commit the offence."
23. In Ramesh Kumar v. State of Chhattisgarh., (2001) 9 SCC 618. the Supreme Court held that "Instigation is to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or encourage to do 'an act'. To satisfy the requirement of instigation Page 16 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined 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."
24. In Sanju alias Sanjay v. State of M.P., (2002) 5 SCC 371. the deceased committed suicide on 27.7.1998. whereas, the alleged quarrel had taken place on 25.7.1998 when it was alleged that the appellant had used abusive language and also told the deceased to go and die. The Supreme Court in the said circumstances held that the fact that the deceased committed suicide on 27.7.1998 would itself clearly point out that it was not the direct result of the quarrel taken place on 25.7.1998 when it is alleged that the appellant had used the abusive language and also told the deceased to go and die.
25. Taking note of various earlier judgments, in M. Mohan u. State Represented the Deputy Superintendent of Police, (2011) 3 SCC 626. the Supreme Court held that "Abetment involves mental process of instigating or intentionally aiding a person in doing of a thing. There should be clear mens rea to commit offence under Section 306. It requires commission of direct or active act by accused which led deceased to commit suicide seeing no other option and such act must be intended to push HC-NIC Page 12 of 15 Created On Sun Dec 06 01:54:01 IST 2015 R/CR.MA/6788/2015 Page 17 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined ORDER victim into a position that he commits suicide."
26. On a close reading of the above provisions of the IPC, and the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in various decisions, it is apparent that in a case under Section 306 IPC, there should be clear mens-rea to commit the offence under this Section and there should be direct or active act by the accused, which led the deceased to commit suicide, that is to say that there must be some evidence of "instigation", "cooperation" or "initial assistance" by the accused to commit suicide by the victim/deceased.
27. In Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia v. Sambhajirao Chandrajirao Angre, (1988) 1 SCC 692 the Supreme Court observed vide Para 7 that:
"7. The legal position is well settled that when a prosecution at the initial stage is asked to be quashed, the test to be applied by the court is as to whether the uncontroverted allegations as made prima facie establish the offence. It is also for the court to take into consideration any special features which appear in a particular case to consider whether it is expedient and in the interest of justice to permit a prosecution to continue. This is so on the basis that the court cannot be utilized for any oblique purpose and where in the opinion of the court chances of an ultimate conviction are bleak and, therefore, no useful purpose is likely to be served by allowing a criminal prosecution to continue, the court may while taking into consideration the special facts of a case also quash the proceeding even though it may be at a preliminary stage."Page 18 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024
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28. In Madan Mohan Singh v. State of Gujarat, (2010) 8 SCC 628. the Supreme Court quashed the proceedings under Section 306 IPC on the ground that the allegations were irrelevant and baseless and observed that the High Court was in error in not quashing the proceedings.
29. Accepting the allegations made against the applicants by the prosecution as it is, they do not constitute the offence of abetment. I am conscious of the fact that five persons of one family lost their lives on account of drastic step taken by them for no reason. It is very difficult to understand the mental state of mind of such persons who take an extreme step of putting an end to their life voluntarily by committing suicide."
12. Having regard to the provisions of Sections 107 and 306 of the Indian Penal Code and the principle laid down by the Supreme Court in various decisions referred to in the case of Lalitbhai Vikramchand Parekh (supra), it is apparent that in a case under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, there should be correct mens rea to commit the offence under this section and there should be direct and active role by the accused, which led the deceased to commit the suicide, that is to say that there cannot be same evidence of "instigation" or "initial assistance" by the accused to commit suicide by the victim/deceased.
13. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the recent decision in Page 19 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined case of Mahmood Ali & Ors. v. State of U.P. & Ors. , rendered in Criminal Appeal No.2341 of 2023, observed and held as under:
"11. The entire case put up by the first informant on the face of it appears to be concocted and fabricated. At this stage, we may refer to the parameters laid down by this Court for quashing of an FIR in the case of State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, AIR 1992 SC 604. The parameters are:-
"(1) Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused.
(2) Where the allegations in the first information report and other materials, if any, accompanying the FIR do not disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code except under an order of a Magistrate within the purview of Section 155(2) of the Code.
(3) Where the uncontroverted allegations made in the FIR or complaint and the evidence collected in support of the same do not disclose the commission of any offence and make out a case against the accused.
(4) Where, the allegations in the FIR do not constitute a cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable offence, no investigation is permitted by a police officer without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under Section 155(2) of the Code.
(5) Where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint are so absurd and inherently improbable on the basis of which no prudent person can ever Page 20 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined reach a just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused.
(6) Where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act (under which a criminal proceeding is instituted) to the institution and continuance of the proceedings and/or where there is a specific provision in the Code or the concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the grievance of the aggrieved party.
(7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge."
We are of the view that the case of the present appellants falls within the parameters Nos. 1, 5 and 7 resply of Bhajan Lal (supra).
12. At this stage, we would like to observe something important. Whenever an accused comes before the Court invoking either the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) or extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution to get the FIR or the criminal proceedings quashed essentially on the ground that such proceedings are manifestly frivolous or vexatious or instituted with the ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance, then in such circumstances the Court owes a duty to look into the FIR with care and a little more closely. We say so because once the complainant decides to proceed against the accused with an ulterior motive for wreaking personal vengeance, etc., then he would ensure that the FIR/complaint is very well drafted with all the necessary pleadings. The complainant would ensure that the averments made in the FIR/complaint are such that they disclose the necessary ingredients to constitute the alleged offence. Therefore, it Page 21 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined will not be just enough for the Court to look into the averments made in the FIR/complaint alone for the purpose of ascertaining whether the necessary ingredients to constitute the alleged offence are disclosed or not. In frivolous or vexatious proceedings, the Court owes a duty to look into many other attending circumstances emerging from the record of the case over and above the averments and, if need be, with due care and circumspection try to read in between the lines. The Court while exercising its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC or Article 226 of the Constitution need not restrict itself only to the stage of a case but is empowered to take into account the overall circumstances leading to the initiation/registration of the case as well as the materials collected in the course of investigation. Take for instance the case on hand. Multiple FIRs have been registered over a period of time. It is in the background of such circumstances the registration of multiple FIRs assumes importance, thereby attracting the issue of wreaking vengeance out of private or personal grudge as alleged.
13. In State of Andhra Pradesh v. Golconda Linga Swamy, (2004) 6 SCC 522, a two-Judge Bench of this Court elaborated on the types of materials the High Court can assess to quash an FIR. The Court drew a fine distinction between consideration of materials that were tendered as evidence and appreciation of such evidence. Only such material that manifestly fails to prove the accusation in the FIR can be considered for quashing an FIR. The Court held:-
"5. ...Authority of the court exists for advancement of justice and if any attempt is made to abuse that authority so as to produce injustice, the court has power to prevent such abuse. It would be an abuse of the process of the court to allow any action which would result in injustice and prevent promotion of justice. In exercise of the powers court would be Page 22 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined justified to quash any proceeding if it finds that initiation or continuance of it amounts to abuse of the process of court or quashing of these proceedings would otherwise serve the ends of justice. When no offence is disclosed by the complaint, the court may examine the question of fact. When a complaint is sought to be quashed, it is permissible to look into the materials to assess what the complainant has alleged and whether any offence is made out even if the allegations are accepted in toto.
6. In R.P. Kapur v. State of Punjab, AIR 1960 SC 866 : 1960 Cri LJ 1239, this Court summarised some categories of cases where inherent power can and should be exercised to quash the proceedings : (AIR p. 869, para 6)
(i) where it manifestly appears that there is a legal bar against the institution or continuance e.g. want of sanction;
(ii) where the allegations in the first information report or complaint taken at its face value and accepted in their entirety do not constitute the offence alleged;
(iii) where the allegations constitute an offence, but there is no legal evidence adduced or the evidence adduced clearly or manifestly fails to prove the charge.
7. In dealing with the last category, it is important to bear in mind the distinction between a case where there is no legal evidence or where there is evidence which is clearly inconsistent with the accusations made, and a case where there is legal evidence which, on appreciation, may or may not support the accusations. When exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code, the High Court would not ordinarily embark upon an enquiry whether the evidence in question is reliable or not or whether on a reasonable appreciation of it accusation would not be sustained. That is Page 23 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined the function of the trial Judge. Judicial process, no doubt should not be an instrument of oppression, or, needless harassment. Court should be circumspect and judicious in exercising discretion and should take all relevant facts and circumstances into consideration before issuing process, lest it would be an instrument in the hands of a private complainant to unleash vendetta to harass any person needlessly. At the same time the section is not an instrument handed over to an accused to short-circuit a prosecution and bring about its sudden death....." (Emphasis supplied)
14. The scope and ambit of inherent powers of the Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. or the extra-ordinary power under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, now stands well defined by series of judicial pronouncements. Undoubtedly, the High Court has inherent power to act ex debito justitiae i.e., to do real and substantial justice, or to prevent abuse of the process of the Court. The powers being very wide in itself imposes a solemn duty on the Courts, requiring great caution in its exercise. The Court must be careful to see that its decision in exercise of this power is based on sound principles. The inherent power vested in the Court should not be exercised to stifle a legitimate prosecution. However, the inherent power or the extra-ordinary power conferred upon the High Court, entitles the said Court to quash a proceeding, if it comes to the conclusion that allowing the proceeding to continue would be an abuse of the process of the Court, or the ends of justice require that the proceeding ought to Page 24 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/9314/2016 JUDGMENT DATED: 30/04/2024 undefined be quashed. Thus, from the aforesaid discussion, I am of the opinion that the allegations in the first information report if taken at its face value and accepted in their entirety, they do not constitute the offence alleged.
15. In the result, the petition succeeds and is hereby allowed. Accordingly, the FIR being C.R.No.I- 78 of 2016 registered with Kheda Town Police Station for the offences punishable under Section 498A, 306 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code and the proceedings of Criminal Case No.839 of 2016 pending before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Kheda, arising out of the aforesaid FIR, are hereby quashed and set aside qua the petitioners. Rule is made absolute.
(DIVYESH A. JOSHI,J) LAVKUMAR J JANI Page 25 of 25 Downloaded on : Mon May 06 20:34:30 IST 2024