Mere Threat Of Implicating Someone With False Criminal Case Does Not Amount To Abetment To Suicide: Calcutta HC
The Calcutta High Court emphasised that there needs to be a positive act that creates an environment where the deceased is pushed to an edge to sustain the charge of Section 306 IPC.
The Calcutta High Court held that mere threat of implicating someone with a false criminal case does not amount to Abetment to Suicide.
The Court was deciding a Criminal Revision Petition filed by the accused persons being aggrieved by the proceedings against them.
A Single Bench of Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee observed, “… even if all evidence on record including the charge sheet and the statement made by the witnesses are taken to be correct, I find that the acts of petitioners are too remote and indirect to constitute the offence under section 306 IPC. In short there is no material against the petitioners of such a nature that the victim was left with no alternative but to commit suicide. Furthermore a threat of implicating someone with false criminal case does not gain the status of abetment to commit suicide by the victim.”
The Bench emphasised that there needs to be positive act that creates an environment where the deceased is pushed to an edge in order to sustain the charge of Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Advocate Manas Kumar Das represented the Petitioners while Advocates Puja Goswami and Bidyut Kumar Roy represented the Opposite Parties.
Factual Background
An FIR was registered in 2012 based on a written Complaint lodged by the Opposite Party stating that the Petitioners-accused started residing as tenants at the house of the brother of the Complainant (victim) on the basis of a verbal agreement for a period of three months. However, after a lapse of few days, the Complainant’s brother came to know that the accused persons were carrying out illegal activities at their said rented house. It was alleged in the Complaint that the victim/deceased on several occasions tried to restrain the accused from carrying out such illegal activities. However, in due course of time, the victim came to know that several police officials were also involved in such illegal activities and the illegal business of the accused, who threatened the victim to implicate in false cases.
The victim several times went to the Police Station but did not get any relief. The accused persons allegedly turned the tenanted house into a center for unsocial activities. When the victim’s brother and wife requested the accused to quit the house, they allegedly started inflicting physical and mental torture upon them, for which the victim committed suicide. Resultantly, a case was registered under Section 306 IPC against the accused persons and challenging the same, they approached the High Court.
Reasoning
The High Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case, noted, “… even if the prosecution case taken to be true in its entirety even then after examining the facts and circumstances of the case and the statement of the witnesses and the materials collected during investigation including the statement of witnesses, there is nothing to say that the cruelty or harassment or threat or pressure allegedly meted out to the victim had led the victim with no other alternative but to put an end to his life. There is no material to show direct or indirect acts of incitement to the commission of suicide.”
The Court said that mere evasive allegation of harassment or threat without even mentioning date, time, or place of such occurrence of positive action, proximate to the time of occurrence on the part of Petitioners which led or compelled the victim to commit suicide, conviction under Section 306 is not possible.
“In fact if the prosecution story taken literally, it could not be said that the petitioners intended to instigate the commission of suicide by the victim. It cannot be said from the facts and circumstance of the case that the petitioners by their conduct had created a situation to the deceased with no other option but to commit suicide”, it added.
The Court, therefore, concluded that the prosecution miserably failed to make out that the Petitioners had abated the victim to commit suicide and there is hardly any chance of their conviction at the end of trial.
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the Petition and quashed the case against the accused persons.
Cause Title- Madusree Ghosh & Anr. v. The State of West Bengal and Another (Case Number: C.R.R. 4233 of 2017)
Appearance:
Petitioners: Advocates Manas Kumar Das and Aritra Kumar Thokdar.
Opposite Parties: Advocates Puja Goswami, Bidyut Kumar Roy, and Sima Biswas.
