High Court of Punjab and HaryanaCRM-M/29791/2019allowed

Gurmail Singh And Another v. State Of Punjab And Another

2021-03-02Mr. Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi11 pages

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".........It is submitted that trial is pending in FIR No. 8 dated 28.1.2018, under Sections 306, 34 IPC, Police Station Mahilpur, against Gurmail Singh and Kaushalya Devi under Section 306 IPC and it is fixed for prosecution evidence. So far as accused Sandeep Kaur is concerned, she is kept in column No.2 of the Challan Report. The report of Illaqa Magistrate has been received vide letter No. 601 dated 6.12.2019 according to which, arrest warrants of Sandeep Kaur were issued but the proceedings against accused Sandeep Kaur had been stayed by the Hon'ble High Court vide order dated 16.7.2019 passed in Criminal Misc. M. No. 18240 of 2019. Till date Sandeep Kaur has not been declared proclaimed offender. Statement of investigating officer ASI Ram Lal, No.

619/Hpr of Police Station Mahilpur, was recorded, who has stated that Gurmail Singh, Kaushalya Devi and Sandeep Kaur are not involved in any other case. He has further stated that Vijay Kumar is the complainant, who is son of Late Ajit Ram, Manjit Kaur is the wife of Late Ajit Ram whereas the other children of Ajit Ram are residing in foreign country.

Notice was given to the complainant Vijay Kumar, who is son of Late Ajit Ram and Manjit Kaur, wife of Late Ajit Ram. As per their version, the FIR was got registered by Vijay Kumar with regard to unnatural death of Ajit

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Ram against Gurmail Singh, Kaushalaya Devi, who are facing trial and Sandeep Kaur, ex.wife of Vijay Kumar. Accused Gurmail Singh and Kaushalya Devi are the parents of Sandeep Kaur. At the instance of Sandeep Kaur, one complaint was filed under Sections 406, 4989A IPC against their entire family i.e. Vijay Kumar, Ajit Ram (victim), Manjit Kaur wife of Ajit Ram, Ajay Kumar son of Ajit Ram as well as Sunita Rani and Geeta Rani are residing abroad and they were declared proclaimed offenders. Because of the criminal litigation between both the families, pending since long, the matter has been compromised and they have decided to withdraw all the criminal cases filed against each other. The complaint filed against them is already withdrawn by the Advocate by giving statement in the court and now there is no dispute left with Gurmail Singh, Kaushalaya Devi or Sandeep Kaur, who is also residing abroad. This compromise is with their free consent without any pressure from any quarter and the same may kindly be accepted.

Joint statement of accused Gurmail Singh and Kaushalya Devi was also recorded who had stated that the FIR was got registered against them on the statement of Vijay Kumar. One criminal complaint was also filed by their daughter Sandeep Kaur, who is residing abroad, against the complainant and his entire family. Due to their long criminal litigation pending against each other, they have effected compromise. Even their daughter has already taken divorce from Vijay Kumar. Therefore, the counsel for Sandeep Kaur has withdrawn the criminal complaint, which was initiated against Vijay Kumar and his family. No dispute is left between them and the compromise has been effected with their free consent. Therefore, considering the statements of both the parties, it appears that both the parties were involved in criminal litigation since long and now they have decided to end the criminal litigation by effecting compromise. The compromise arrived at between the parties is genuine, voluntary and without any coercion or undue influence. ........"

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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." -- '-<9("7%/"'"(!,1(!"3% !! .

A person abets the doing of a thing, who 9 First.9Instigates any person to do that thing; or Secondly.9Engages 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

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Thirdly.9Intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing.

Explanation 1.9A 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 2.9Whoever, 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 facilitate the commission thereof, is said to aid the doing of that act."

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% A,* 17,&!!59( " 31! "The first segment of Section 107 defines abetment as the instigation of a person to do a particular thing. The second segment defines it with reference to engaging in a conspiracy with one or more other persons for the doing of a thing, and an act or illegal omission in pursuance of the conspiracy. Under the third segment, abetment is founded on intentionally aiding the doing of a thing either by an act or omission. These provisions have been construed specifically in the context of Section 306 to which a reference is necessary in order to furnish the legal foundation for assessing the contents of the FIR. These provisions have been construed in the earlier judgements of this Court in '

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( ) ,-/', Justice Mukundakam Sharma, speaking for a two judge Bench of this Court and having adverted to the earlier decisions, observed: "12...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 there being any positive action

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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."

The Court noted that before a person may be said to have abetted the commission of suicide, they ―must have played an active role by an act of instigation or by doing certain act to facilitate the commission of suicide. Instigation, as this Court held in 3 4 (supra), "literally means to provoke, incite, urge on or bring about by persuasion to do anything". In '' vs %"6 3 !" ,-/'., a two judge Bench of this Court, speaking through Justice Dalveer Bhandari, observed:

"25. 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 this 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.""

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"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 consequence to actually follow cannot be said to be instigation."

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