Himachal Pradesh High Court
Date Of Decision: 18.03.2026 vs State Of Himachal Pradesh And Others on 18 March, 2026
Author: Sandeep Sharma
Bench: Sandeep Sharma
2026:HHC:7687
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
Cr.MMO No.1062 of 2022
Date of Decision: 18.03.2026
.
__________________________________________________________________________
Rohit Sharma
.........Petitioner
Versus
State of Himachal Pradesh and Others
.......Respondents
Coram
of
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sandeep Sharma, Judge.
Whether approved for reporting? Yes.
__________________________________________________________________________
rt
For the Petitioner: Mr. Aman Parth Sharma and Mr. Rishab Negi,
Advocates.
For the Respondents: Mr. Anish Banshtu, Deputy Advocate General,
for State.
Mr. Shanti Swaroop Bhatti, Advocate, for
respondents No.2 & 3.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Sandeep Sharma, J. (Oral)
By way of present petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, prayer has been made by the petitioner for quashing of FIR No.121/2018, dated 02.07.2018, lodged at Police Station Joginder Nagar, under Sections 306 and 34 of IPC, as well as consequential proceedings pending in the Court of learned Additional District Judge, Sarkaghat, Camp at Joginder Nagar, i.e. Session Trial No.45/2019, titled as State Vs. Munish Kumar and Others.
2. Precisely, the grouse of the petitioner, as has been highlighted in the petition and further canvassed by Mr. Aman Parth Sharma, learned ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 2 counsel representing the petitioner, is that no case much less case under Sections 306 of 34 of IPC is made out against the petitioner and as such, .
no fruitful purpose would be served by permitting the criminal proceedings to continue against him, pursuant to FIR, sought to be quashed in the instant proceedings. While making this Court peruse contents of the FIR as well as final report submitted under Section 173 of Cr.P.C., Mr. Parth, of learned counsel representing the petitioner, stated that neither there is any suicide note left behind by deceased Manoj Sharma nor there is any rt evidence to suggest that deceased Manoj Sharma, i.e. brother of the complainant, committed suicide after having been mentally harassed and tortured by the petitioner. He stated that merely on the basis of some WhatsApp messages sent by the deceased to his brother, Police could not have registered case against the petitioner under Sections 306 and 34 of IPC. In support of his aforesaid submission, he placed reliance upon the judgment dated 31.03.2022, passed by this Court in Criminal Misc. Petition (Main) No.728 of 2021, titled as Sh. Ashish Kumar Vs. State of H.P. and Others.
3. To the contrary, Mr. Anish Banshtu, learned Deputy Advocate General, while justifying the impugned action of lodging FIR against the petitioner under Sections 306 and 34 IPC, submitted that bare perusal of message sent by deceased to his brother, prior to his having committed suicide, clearly reveals that he was constantly tortured by the petitioner.
::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS2026:HHC:7687 3 While referring to the reply filed by respondent-State as well as final report submitted under Section 173 Cr.P.C., he contended that prior to the alleged .
incident of suicide, petitioner herein, while extending threats to the deceased, had also shown knife to him. While referring to provisions contained under Section 306 of the IPC, Mr. Banshtu, learned Deputy Advocate General, submitted that whoever abets the commission of such of suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to ten years. He stated that since bare perusal of WhatsApp message clearly rt suggests that deceased Manoj Sharma committed suicide after being mentally harassed and tortured by the petitioner, no illegality can be said to have been committed by the Investigating Agency while registering case under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC against the petitioner. He submitted that otherwise also, factum with regard to abetment, harassment and mental torture shall be proved by the prosecution by leading and convincing evidence, but certainly such fact, if any, cannot be considered and decided in the instant proceedings.
4. Precisely, the facts of the case, which led to lodging of the FIR, sought to be quashed in the instant proceedings, are that on 01.07.2018 at about 11:20 pm, an application/complaint was received at Police Station Joginder Nagar from one Deepak Chopra regarding missing of SDO Manoj Sharma. SI Surjeet Singh along with Police team of Police Station Joginder Nagar left for the search of SDO Manoj Sharma at his residence/quarters ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 4 and place of his duty at Sanan Power House and other probable places.
During his search, on 02.07.2018 at about 9:00 pm, dead body of SDO .
Manoj Sharma was found/recovered from the canal, stuck against the iron grill, by local Police of Police Station Joginder Nagar. On 02.07.2018, one Kapil Dev Sharma-respondent No.2, who happens to be brother of deceased Er. Manoj Sharma, recorded his statement under Section 154 Cr.P.C., of alleging therein that his younger brother Manoj Sharma, who was posted at Shanan Power Project at Joginder Nagar on the post of SDO, posted a rt message on the WhatsApp group of "Majara Family" that last night, i.e. on 01.07.2018, one Mr. Manish used to threaten him and if something happens to him, then Er. Manish and Er. Rohit i.e. petitioner herein, will be responsible. He alleged that he, after having read the WhatsApp message at about 09:00 pm, made a call on the mobile number of deceased Manoj Sharma, but his mobile phone was switched off. He alleged that thereafter he narrated the matter to his brother-in-law namely Deepak, who was staying in a guest house at Shanan, Joginder Nagar, however, on 02.07.2018, he came to know that dead body of deceased Manoj Sharma has been recovered from the canal. In nutshell, complainant, named hereinabove, alleged that his brother committed suicide after being mentally tortured and harassed by the petitioner. In the afore background, FIR sought to be quashed came to be instituted against the petitioner, who at present stands enlarged on bail.
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5. Pursuant to notices issued in the instant proceedings, respondent-State as well as respondents No.2 and 3 have filed replies, .
wherein facts, as have been taken note hereinabove, have not been disputed, rather stand admitted. Heavy reliance has been placed upon WhatsApp message, allegedly sent on the mobile phone of complainant by deceased Manoj Sharma, wherein he apprised that Mr. Manish used to of threaten him and in case something happens to him, then Er. Manish and Er. Rohit will be responsible. In afore message, deceased also alleged that rt Er. Manish wielded a knife. In nutshell, case of the petitioner is that no case is made out under Section 306 of IPC in the given facts and circumstances, whereas case of the respondent-State is that deceased Manoj Sharma committed suicide after being instigated by the petitioner.
6. Before ascertaining the genuineness and correctness of the submissions and counter submissions having been made by the learned counsel for the parties vis-à-vis prayer made in the instant petition, this Court deems it necessary to discuss/elaborate the scope and competence of this Court to quash the criminal proceedings while exercising power under Section 482 of Cr.PC.
7. A three-Judge Bench of the Hon'ble Apex Court in case titled State of Karnataka vs. L. Muniswamy and others, 1977 (2) SCC 699, held that High Court while exercising power under Section 482 Cr.PC is entitled to quash the proceedings, if it comes to the conclusion that ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 6 allowing the proceeding to continue would be an abuse of the process of the Court or that the ends of justice require that the proceeding ought to be .
quashed.
8. Subsequently, in case titled State of Haryana and others vs. Bhajan Lal and others, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335, the Hon'ble Apex Court while elaborately discussing the scope and competence of High Court to of quash criminal proceedings under Section 482 Cr.PC laid down certain principles governing the jurisdiction of High Court to exercise its power.
rt After passing of aforesaid judgment, issue with regard to exercise of power under Section 482 Cr.PC, again came to be considered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in case bearing Criminal Appeal No.577 of 2017 (arising out of SLP (CrL.) No. 287 of 2017) titled Vineet Kumar and Ors. v. State of U.P. and Anr., wherein it has been held that saving of the High Court's inherent powers, both in civil and criminal matters, is designed to achieve a salutary public purpose i.e. court proceedings ought not to be permitted to degenerate into a weapon of harassment or persecution.
9. The Hon'ble Apex Court in Prashant Bharti v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2013) 9 SCC 293, relying upon its earlier judgment titled as Rajiv Thapar and Ors v. Madan Lal Kapoor, (2013) 3 SCC 330, reiterated that High Court has inherent powers under Section 482 Cr.PC., to quash the proceedings against an accused, at the stage of issuing process, or at the stage of committal, or even at the stage of framing of charge, but such ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 7 power must always be used with caution, care and circumspection. In the aforesaid judgment, the Hon'ble Apex Court concluded that while exercising .
its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Cr.PC, Court exercising such power must be fully satisfied that the material produced by the accused is such, that would lead to the conclusion, that his/their defence is based on sound, reasonable, and indubitable facts and the material of adduced on record itself overrule the veracity of the allegations contained in the accusations levelled by the prosecution/complainant. Besides above, rt the Hon'ble Apex Court further held that material relied upon by the accused should be such, as would persuade a reasonable person to dismiss and condemn the actual basis of the accusations as false. In such a situation, the judicial conscience of the High Court would persuade it to exercise its power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. to quash such criminal proceedings, for that would prevent abuse of process of the court, and secure the ends of justice. In the aforesaid judgment titled as Prashant Bharti v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2013) 9 SCC 293, the Hon'ble Apex Court has held as under:-
"22. The proposition of law, pertaining to quashing of criminal proceedings, initiated against an accused by a High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as "the Cr.P.C.") has been dealt with by this Court in Rajiv Thapar & Ors. vs. Madan Lal Kapoor wherein this Court inter alia held as under: (2013) 3 SCC 330, paras 29-30)
29. The issue being examined in the instant case is the jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C., if it chooses to quash the initiation of the prosecution against an accused, at the stage of issuing ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 8 process, or at the stage of committal, or even at the stage of framing of charges. These are all stages before the commencement of the actual trial. The same parameters would naturally be available for later stages as well. The .
power vested in the High Court under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C., at the stages referred to hereinabove, would have far reaching consequences, inasmuch as, it would negate the prosecution's/complainant's case without allowing the prosecution/complainant to lead evidence.
Such a determination must always be rendered with caution, care and circumspection. To invoke its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. the High Court has to be fully satisfied, that the material produced by the accused is such, that would lead to the of conclusion, that his/their defence is based on sound, reasonable, and indubitable facts; the material produced is such, as would rule out and displace the assertions contained in the charges levelled against the accused; and the material produced is such, as would clearly rt reject and overrule the veracity of the allegations contained in the accusations levelled by the prosecution/complainant. It should be sufficient to rule out, reject and discard the accusations levelled by the prosecution/complainant, without the necessity of recording any evidence. For this the material relied upon by the defence should not have been refuted, or alternatively, cannot be justifiably refuted, being material of sterling and impeccable quality. The material relied upon by the accused should be such, as would persuade a reasonable person to dismiss and condemn the actual basis of the accusations as false. In such a situation, the judicial conscience of the High Court would persuade it to exercise its power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. to quash such criminal proceedings, for that would prevent abuse of process of the court, and secure the ends of justice.
30. Based on the factors canvassed in the foregoing paragraphs, we would delineate the following steps to determine the veracity of a prayer for quashing, raised by an accused by invoking the power vested in the High Court under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.:-
30.1 Step one, whether the material relied upon by the accused is sound, reasonable, and indubitable, i.e., the material is of sterling and impeccable quality? 30.2 Step two, whether the material relied upon by the accused, would rule out the assertions contained in the charges levelled against the accused, i.e., the material is sufficient to reject and overrule the factual assertions contained in the complaint, i.e., ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 9 the material is such, as would persuade a reasonable person to dismiss and condemn the factual basis of the accusations as false. 30.3 Step three, whether the material relied .
upon by the accused, has not been refuted by the prosecution/complainant; and/or the material is such, that it cannot be justifiably refuted by the prosecution/complainant?
30.4 Step four, whether proceeding with the trial would result in an abuse of process of the court, and would not serve the ends of justice?
30.5 If the answer to all the steps is in the affirmative, judicial conscience of the High of Court should persuade it to quash such criminal - proceedings, in exercise of power vested in it under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.
Such exercise of power, besides doing justice rt to the accused, would save precious court time, which would otherwise be wasted in holding such a trial (as well as, proceedings arising therefrom) specially when, it is clear that the same would not conclude in the conviction of the accused."
10. It is quite apparent from the bare perusal of aforesaid judgments passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court from time to time that 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/her due to private and personal grudge, High Court while exercising power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. (now Section 528 of BNSS) can proceed to quash the proceedings.
11. Sh. Anish Banshtu, learned Deputy Advocate General, contended that since investigating agency after having completed investigation has already filed Challan under Section 173 Cr.PC., in the competent court of law, prayer made on behalf of the petitioner for quashing FIR cannot be accepted at this stage. However, this Court is not ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 10 inclined to accept the aforesaid submission made by the learned Deputy Advocate General for the reason that High Court while exercising .
jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. can even proceed to quash charge, if it is satisfied that evidentiary material adduced on record would not reasonably connect the accused with the crime and if trial in such situations is allowed to continue, person arraigned as an accused would be of unnecessarily put to ordeals of protracted trial on the basis of flippant and vague evidence.
12. rt Recently, the Hon'ble Apex Court in case tilted Anand Kumar Mohatta and Anr. v. State (Government of NCT of Delhi) Departmetn of Home and Anr, AIR 2019 SC 210, has held that abuse of process caused by FIR stands aggravated if the FIR has taken the form of a charge sheet after investigation and as such, the abuse of law or miscarriage of justice can be rectified by the court while exercising power under Section 482 Cr.PC. The relevant paras of the judgment are as under:
16. Even otherwise it must be remembered that the provision invoked by the accused before the High Court is Section 482 Cr. P.C and that this Court is hearing an appeal from an order under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. Section 482 of Cr.P.C reads as follows: -
"482. Saving of inherent power of the High Court.- Nothing in this Code shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent powers of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Code, or to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice."
17. There is nothing in the words of this Section which restricts the exercise of the power of the Court to prevent the abuse of ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 11 process of court or miscarriage of justice only to the stage of the FIR. It is settled principle of law that the High court can exercise jurisdiction under Section 482 of Cr.P.C even when the discharge application is pending with the trial court ( G. Sagar .
Suri and Anr. V. State of U.P. and Others, (2000) 2 SCC 636 (para 7), Umesh Kumar v. State of Andhra Pradesh and Anr. (2013) 10 SCC 591 (para 20). Indeed, it would be a travesty to hold that proceedings initiated against a person can be interfered with at the stage of FIR but not if it has advanced, and the allegations have materialized into a charge sheet. On the contrary it could be said that the abuse of process caused by FIR stands aggravated if the FIR has taken the form of a charge sheet after investigation. The power is undoubtedly conferred to prevent abuse of process of power of any court."
of
13. Recently, the Hon'ble Apex Court in case titled Pramod Suryabhan Pawar v. The State of Maharashtra and Anr, (2019) 9 SCC rt 608, has elaborated the scope of exercise of power under Section 482 Cr.PC, the relevant para whereof reads as under:-
"7. Section 482 is an overriding section which saves the inherent powers of the court to advance the cause of justice.
Under Section 482 the inherent jurisdiction of the court can be exercised (i) to give effect to an order under the CrPC; (ii) to prevent the abuse of the process of the court; and (iii) to otherwise secure the ends of justice. The powers of the court under Section 482 are wide and the court is vested with a significant amount of discretion to decide whether or not to exercise them. The court should be guarded in the use of its extraordinary jurisdiction to quash an FIR or criminal proceeding as it denies the prosecution the opportunity to establish its case through investigation and evidence. These principles have been consistently followed and re-iterated by this Court. In Inder Mohan Goswami v State of Uttaranchal5, this Court observed.
"23. This Court in a number of cases has laid down the scope and ambit of courts' powers under Section 482 CrPC. Every High Court has inherent powers to act ex debito justitiae to do real and substantial justice, for the administration of which alone it exists, or to prevent abuse of the process of the court. Inherent power under Section 482 CrPC can be exercised:
i to give effect to an order under the Code;
ii to prevent abuse of the process of the court, and
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2026:HHC:7687
12
(iii) to otherwise secure the ends of justice.
24. Inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC though wide have to be exercised sparingly, carefully and with .
great caution and only when exercise is justified by the tests specifically laid down in this section itself. Authority of the court exists for the advancement of justice. If any abuse of the process leading to injustice is brought to the notice of the court, then the court would be justified in preventing injustice by invoking inherent powers in absence of specific provisions in the statute."
8. Given the varied nature of cases that come before the High of Courts, any strict test as to when the court's extraordinary powers can be exercised is likely to tie the court's hands in the face of future injustices. This Court in State of Haryana v Bhajan Lal6 conducted a detailed study of the situations where the court may exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction and laid down a list of illustrative examples of where quashing may be rt appropriate. It is not necessary to discuss all the examples, but a few bear relevance to the present case. The court in Bhajan Lal noted that quashing may be appropriate where, (2007) 12 SCC 1 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335 "102. (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).
..........
(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."
In deciding whether to exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482, the Court does not adjudicate upon the veracity of the facts alleged or enter into an appreciation of competing evidence presented. The limited question is whether on the face of the FIR, the allegations constitute a cognizable offence. As this Court noted in Dhruvaram Murlidhar Sonar v State of Maharashtra, 2018 SCCOnLine SC3100 ("Dhruvaram Sonar") :
::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS2026:HHC:7687 13 "13. It is clear that for quashing proceedings, meticulous analysis of factum of taking cognizance of an offence by the Magistrate is not called for. Appreciation of evidence is also not permissible in exercise of inherent powers. If .
the allegations set out in the complaint do not constitute the offence of which cognizance has been taken, it is open to the High Court to quash the same in exercise of its inherent powers."
14. Now being guided by the aforesaid proposition of law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court, this Court would make an endeavour to of examine and consider the prayer made in the instant petition vis-à-vis factual matrix of the case.
15. rt Careful perusal of FIR sought to be quashed as well as final report submitted in the competent Court of law under Section 173 Cr.P.C.
clearly reveals that save and except one WhatsApp message posted on the mobile phone of complainant, no suicide note was left behind by the deceased Manoj Sharma. There is no material to prove that prior to posting of the WhatsApp message, detailed hereinabove, deceased Manoj Sharma had ever lodged any complaint with regard to threats, if any, extended by petitioner, to his parents, management or the Police. One day prior to his having committed suicide, he sent WhatsApp message to his brother, detailed hereinabove, wherein he attempted to apprise his family members that threats are being extended to him by Er. Manish and in case something happens to him, Er. Manish will be responsible for the same.
Admittedly, in the case at hand, accused died of his having drowned in the canal and as per medical evidence adduced on record, no marks of external ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 14 or internal injury were ever found. As per post-mortem report, deceased Manoj Sharma died on account of drowning, leading to asphyxia and .
deceased was not intoxicate at the time of incident. In investigation, it has come that petitioner-accused and co-accused Er. Manish used to comment and irritate deceased Manoj Sharma and deceased had posted the message regarding the comments made by the petitioner and co-accused to him in of the WhatsApp group of "Majara Family".
16. Question which needs to be decided in the instant case is that rt whether contents of the message posted by the deceased in the WhatsApp group of "Majara Family" would be sufficient to constitute offence, if any, punishable under Section 306 of IPC or not? At this stage, it would be apt to take note of Section 306 of IPC, which read 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."
17. 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.::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS
2026:HHC:7687 15 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.
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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."
18. The dictionary meaning of the word 'instigate' is to bring about or initiate, incite someone to do something. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the of case of Ramesh Kumar Vs. State of Chhattisgarh 2001 9 SCC 618 has defined the word 'instigate' as "instigation is to goad, urge forward, provoke, rt incite or encourage to do an act."
19. Hon'ble Apex Court in case of S.S.Cheena Vs. Vijay Kumar Mahajan and Anr. (2010) 12 SCC 190 has dealt with scope and ambit of Section 107 IPC and its co-relation with Section 306 IPC. Relevant pars of the aforesaid judgment read 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. The intention of the legislature and the ratio of the cases decided by the Supreme Court is clear that in order to convict a person under Section 306 IPC there has to be a clear mens rea to commit the offence. It also requires an active act or direct act which led the deceased to commit suicide seeing no option and that act must have been intended to push the deceased into such a position that he committed suicide."
20. In the case of M. Arjunan Vs. State, Represented by its Inspector of Police (2019) 3 SCC 315, the Hon'ble Apex Court has held as under:
::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS2026:HHC:7687 16 "The essential ingredients of the offence under Section 306 I.P.C. are: (i) the abetment; (ii) the intention of the accused to aid or instigate or abet the deceased to commit suicide. The act of the accused, however, insulting the deceased by using abusive .
language will not, by itself, constitute the abetment of suicide.
There should be evidence capable of suggesting that the accused intended by such act to instigate the deceased to commit suicide. Unless the ingredients of instigation/abetment to commit suicide are satisfied, accused cannot be convicted under Section 306 I.P.C."
21. The Hon'ble Apex Court in Ude Singh & Ors. Vs. State of Haryana, 2019 17 SCC 301, has held that in cases of alleged abetment of of suicide, there must be a proof of direct or indirect act/s of incitement to the commission of suicide. It could hardly be disputed that the question of rt cause of a suicide, particularly in the context of an offence of abetment of suicide, remains a vexed one, involving multifaceted and complex attributes of human behaviour and responses/reactions. In the case of accusation for abetment of suicide, the Court would be looking for cogent and convincing proof of the act/s of incitement to the commission of suicide. In the case of suicide, mere allegation of harassment of the deceased by another person would not suffice unless there be such action on the part of the accused which compels the person to commit suicide and such an offending action ought to be proximate to the time of occurrence. Whether a person has abetted in the commission of suicide by another or not, could only be gathered from the facts and circumstances of each case.
22. It is quite apparent from the aforesaid judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court that act of the accused, however, insulting the deceased by using abusive language will not, by itself, constitute the ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 17 abetment of suicide, rather there should be evidence suggestive of the fact that the accused intended by such act to instigate the deceased to commit .
suicide. However, in the case at hand, as has been discussed herein above, there is no evidence at all available against the petitioner that he insulted the deceased by using abusive language, that too with an intention to instigate him to commit suicide and as such, no case, if any, under Section of 306 IPC is otherwise made out against him. Contents of FIR and final report filed under Section 173, if taken to be correct on their face value, do rt not prima facie constitute the offence against the accused. Apart from above, neither FIR nor final Challan under Section 173 Cr.P.C. disclose offence, if any, punishable under Section 306 of IPC against the petitioner.
Leaving everything aside, there is no sufficient evidence available on record to connect the petitioner with the offence alleged to have been committed by him.
23. If the WhatsApp message posted on "Majara Family", Annexure P-4, on the basis of which FIR sought to be quashed came to be instituted against the petitioner, is perused in its entirety, it suggests that petitioner as well as co-accused Manish were told by somebody that deceased have their gay sex MMS. It appears that after having noticed possession of aforesaid MMS, co-accused Manish threatened deceased with knife, but as has been noticed hereinabove, deceased died of drowning and not of injuries, if any, caused by co-accused Manish or present petitioner.
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24. Leaving everything aside, WhatsApp message, on the basis of which FIR came to be registered against the petitioner, nowhere suggests .
that petitioner herein i.e. Rohit Sharma, had ever extended any threats or made an attempt to threaten the deceased with any kind of weapon, rather as per afore message, co-accused Manish had threatened deceased with knife to kill him. Though this Court, after having carefully perused the of WhatsApp message posted on "Majara Family" by deceased prior to his having committed suicide, is fully convinced that no case much less under rt Section 306 of IPC is made out against the accused, named in the FIR, but since co-accused Manish is not before this Court, rather petition at hand has been filed by petitioner i.e. Rohit Sharma, this Court refrains from making any comment qua the complicity of co-accused Manish Kumar.
25. Leaving everything aside, contents of WhatsApp message posted on "Majara Family" allegedly sent by the deceased to his brother i.e. complainant, if tested/analyzed in light of other material available/collected on record by the investigating agency, especially Annexure P-5 i.e. attendance register, as per which, petitioner herein was on leave, on which date, deceased allegedly committed suicide, coupled with the fact that Resident Engineer of the project also stated that there was a congenial atmosphere and no complaint was ever received by him or other authorities with regard to threats, if any, extended by the petitioner or co-accused Manish. In view of above, case of the prosecution is bound to fail and ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 19 hence, no fruitful purpose would be served by allowing such proceedings to continue.
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26. The Hon'ble Apex Court in a case (Geo Varghese v. State of Rajasthan and Anr, 2021 (4) RCR (Criminal) 361) where student committed suicide after being reprimanded by the teacher/administration categorically held that reprimanding student would not amount to of investigation to commit suicide. Relevant para of the aforesaid judgment reads as under:
rt
27. It is a solemn duty of a teacher to instil discipline in the students. It is not uncommon that teachers reprimand a student for not being attentive or not being upto the mark in studies or for bunking classes or not attending the school. The disciplinary measures adopted by a teacher or other authorities of a school, reprimanding a student for his indiscipline, in our considered opinion, would not tantamount to provoking a student to commit suicide, unless there are repeated specific allegations of harassment and insult deliberately without any justifiable cause or reason. A simple act of reprimand of a student for his behaviour or indiscipline by a teacher, who is under moral obligations to inculcate the good qualities of a human being in a student would definitely not amount to instigation or intentionally aid to the commission of a suicide by a student.
28. 'Spare the rod and spoil the child' an old saying may have lost its relevance in present days and Corporal punishment to the child is not recognised by law but that does not mean that a teacher or school authorities have to shut their eyes to any indiscipline act of a student. It is not only a moral duty of a teacher but one of the legally assigned duty under Section 24 (e) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to hold regular meetings with the parents and guardians and apprise them about the regularity in attendance, ability to learn, progress made in learning and any other act or relevant information about the child. ............................
32. Considering the facts that the appellant holds a post of a teacher and any act done in discharge of his moral or legal duty without their being any circumstances to even remotely indicate that there was any intention on his part to abet the commission of suicide by one of his own pupil, no mens rea can be attributed. Thus, the very element of abetment is conspicuously missing from ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 20 the allegations levelled in the FIR. In the absence of the element of abetment missing from the allegations, the essential ingredients of offence under section 306 IPC do not exist.
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40. In the absence of any material on record even, prima-facie, in the FIR or statement of the complainant, pointing out any such circumstances showing any such act or intention that he intended to bring about the suicide of his student, it would be absurd to even think that the appellant had any intention to place the deceased in such circumstances that there was no option available to him except to commit suicide.
27. In the aforesaid judgment, the Hon'ble Apex Court has of categorically held that simple act of reprimand of a student for his behaviour or indiscipline by a teacher, who is under moral obligations to rt inculcate the good qualities of a human being in a student would definitely not amount to instigation or intentional aid to the commission of a suicide by a student. In the absence of the element of abetment missing from the allegations, the essential ingredients of offence under Section 306 IPC do not exist. Apart from above, the Hon'ble apex Court has held that victim committed suicide allegedly for being reprimanded for repeatedly bunking classes. Reading of victims suicide note shows that same was penned by immature and hypersensitive mind, thus act of accused being teacher would not ordinarily induce a circumstances to a student to commit suicide.
28. Aforesaid exposition of law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court clearly reveals that act of the accused, however, insulting the deceased by using abusive language will not, by itself, constitute the abetment of suicide, rather there should be evidence suggestive of the fact ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 21 that the accused intended by such act to instigate the deceased to commit suicide. However, in the case at hand, as has been discussed herein above, .
there is no evidence at all available against the petitioner that he insulted the deceased by using abusive language, that too with an intention to instigate him to commit suicide and as such, no case, if any, under Section 306 IPC is otherwise made out against him. Contents of FIR and final of report filed under Section 173, if taken to be correct on their face value, do not prima facie constitute the offence against the accused. Leaving rt everything aside, there is no sufficient evidence available on record to connect the petitioner with the offence alleged to have been committed by him.
29. Having scanned material adduced on record, this Court has no hesitation to conclude that evidentiary material on record, if accepted would not reasonably connect the petitioner with the crime. There is nothing on record to conclude that on the date of the alleged incident, petitioner was present in the office or he used abusive language with an intention to instigate the deceased to commit suicide. This Court having perused material available on record finds that chances of conviction of the petitioner are very remote and bleak and in case, FIR sought to be quashed in the instant proceedings as well as consequent proceedings pending in the competent Court of law, if allowed to continue, petitioner would ::: Downloaded on - 24/03/2026 20:29:54 :::CIS 2026:HHC:7687 22 unnecessarily be put to ordeal of protracted trial, which ultimately may lead to acquittal of the accused.
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30. Consequently, in view of the detailed discussion made herein above as well as law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court, present petition is allowed and FIR No.121/2018, dated 02.07.2018, lodged at Police Station Joginder Nagar, under Sections 306 and 34 of IPC, as well as of consequential proceedings, pending in the Court of learned Additional District Judge, Sarkaghat, Camp at Joginder Nagar, H.P., are quashed and rt set-aside. Petitioner is acquitted from the commission of offence under Section 306/34 IPC.
The petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms, along with all pending applications.
March 18, 2026 (Sandeep Sharma),
Judge
Rajeev Raturi
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