Gujarat High Court: Gita Gopi, J., while addressing an issue with regard to abetment to suicide held that in accordance with the ingredients of Section 306 of the Penal Code, 1860 the act of demanding the repayment of money would not bring a case within the meaning of Section 306 of the Penal Code, 1860.
The instant petition was filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing and setting aside the first information under Sections 306, 384, 385, 387 of the Penal Code, 1860 and Section 40 of the Gujarat Money Lenders Act and proceedings initiated in pursuance thereof.
Allegation
Deceased had borrowed money from the present applicant and the applicant was often demanding repayment along with interest and the husband of the complainant could not make arrangements of the money and remained under tension.
Further, it was alleged that the applicant used to often threaten him on phone for the money and had instigated the complainant husband to commit suicide.
Appearance: Rathin P Raval for applicant 1, Nirali Gajjar for respondent 2 and Pranav Trivedi for respondent 1.
Decision
Bench referred the Supreme Court decision in M. Mohan v. State, (2011) 3 SCC 626, with regard to the ingredients of Section 306 of the Penal Code, 1860.
Court stated that the act of demanding the repayment of money would not bring a case within the meaning of Section 306 of the Penal Code, 1860. There would not be any mens rea of the applicant as he would not be benefitted from the act of suicide of the deceased and thus prima facie the allegation in the FIR taken at its face value do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused.
Hence, the High Court allowed the present petition in the above-view. [Jorubhai Amrubhai Varu v. State of Gujarat, 2020 SCC OnLine Guj 1189, decided on 19-08-2020]
