Gujarat High Court
Rajesh @Raju Lunkaranbhai Jain vs State Of Gujarat on 7 May, 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR QUASHING & SET ASIDE
FIR/ORDER) NO. 2395 of 2026
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE VIMAL K. VYAS Sd/-
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
✔
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RAJESH @RAJU LUNKARANBHAI JAIN
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR. KISHAN H DAIYA(6929) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MS. KRINA P.CALLA, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MR. MAHESH K POOJARA(5879) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE VIMAL K. VYAS
Date : 07/05/2026
ORAL JUDGMENT
1. RULE returnable forthwith. Learned APP Ms.Krina P.Calla waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent no.1 - State and learned advocate Mr.Mahesh Poojara waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent no.2 - Complainant.
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2. By way of preferring the present application under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the applicant-accused seeks to invoke the inherent powers of this Court, praying to quash and set-aside the First Information Report No.11210045240774 of 2024 lodged before the Pandesara Police Station, Surat city, for the offences punishable under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code; as well as the proceedings of the Sessions Case No.654 of 2024 pending before the learned 15th Additional Sessions Judge, Surat.
3. The prosecution's case, as set out in the FIR, is that the deceased (the complainant's father), who was an employee of 'Rameshkumar Kantilal Patel', a courier firm, had advanced an amount of Rs.1.5 crore to the applicant-accused, and when the deceased sought repayment, the applicant-accused refused to return it and issued threats. Therefore, feeling severely distressed and disappointed due to the refusal by the applicant- accused in returning his amount, the deceased took the drastic step of committing suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at around 2:00 p.m. on 29.01.2024.
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4. It is alleged by the complainant in the FIR that on 28.01.2024 (i.e. a day preceding the occurrence), the applicant- accused had spoken with his father six times on his mobile- phone, and on 29.01.2024 (i.e. on the day of occurrence), there were six missed calls by the applicant-accused, but his father did not answer. Furthermore, it is alleged by the complainant that two days prior to the incident, his father had told him that he had borrowed money from some relatives and had given it as an advance to the applicant-accused; however, when he demanded the money back, the applicant-accused refused to repay.
5. It is also alleged by the complainant that on the day of the occurrence, a suicide note (a 'chit') was found from the pocket of the deceased, wherein the deceased has stated that he is committing suicide as the applicant-accused Raju Jain has taken away Rs.1.5 crore from him.
6. Heard learned advocate Mr.Kishan H.Daiya appearing for the applicant-accused, learned APP Ms.Krina P.Calla appearing for the respondent no.1 - State and learned advocate Mr.Mahesh Poojara appearing for the respondent no.2 - Complainant. Page 3 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026
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7. At the outset, learned advocate Mr.Kishan Daiya appearing for the applicant-accused has submitted that the matter has been settled between the parties and the complainant, who is the son of the deceased, has also filed an affidavit in this regard on 02.02.2026. Learned advocate Mr.Daiya has further submitted that the FIR lodged by the first informant is palpably false and there is not an iota of evidence to implicate the present applicant-accused in the alleged offence. The prosecution has remained silent as to what had happened immediately preceding the incident.
8. Learned advocate Mr.Daiya has submitted that the proximity between the alleged act of instigation by the applicant- accused and the commission of suicide by the deceased has not been proved. It is submitted that except the statement of the complainant (who is the son of the deceased), there is no other evidence to connect the present applicant-accused with the alleged offence. It is, therefore, submitted that the complainant has made vague, omnibus and general allegations against the applicant-accused, and the FIR, even if it is considered at its face value, the same could not even establish the offence as alleged. Page 4 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026
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9. While taking this Court through the factual matrix of the case, learned advocate Mr.Daiya has submitted that, except the suicide note (a 'chit'), there is no material on record to suggest that the deceased had given Rs.1.5 crore to the applicant- accused, or that the applicant-accused was refusing to repay the amount. Mr.Daiya has submitted that there is no evidence on record to even suggest that before committing suicide by the deceased, the applicant-accused had administered any threat or had used abusive language or incited or provoked the deceased. The entire evidence is silent as to what had happened soon before the incident. There is no evidence regarding the monetary transactions and there is no witness to it. Learned advocate has, therefore, submitted that simply on the basis of making allegation of mental torture in the FIR, without any direct and proximate act by the applicant-accused, would not be sufficient to constitute the alleged offence.
10. Learned advocate Mr.Daiya has submitted that the prosecution has not proved beyond reasonable doubt the essential ingredients of the offence punishable under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (corresponding Section 108 of the Page 5 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023). He further submits that the record is conspicuously silent on the requisite elements of 'mens rea' and 'instigation' as mandated by Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code (corresponding Section 45 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023). Except the suicide note (a 'chit'), there is no other corroborative piece of evidence produced by the prosecution, which prima facie establishes the involvement of the present applicant in the alleged offence. Furthermore, it reveals from the materials on record there was no direct or indirect nexus between the conduct of the applicant-accused and the suicide by the deceased. Consequently, he has submitted that taking the allegations in the FIR stricto sensu and at its face value, no cognizable offence is disclosed against the applicant- accused.
11. Learned advocate Mr.Daiya has, therefore, urged that considering the aforesaid as well as considering the fact that settlement has been arrived at between the complainant (i.e. the son of the deceased) and the applicant-accused, and an affidavit has also been filed in this regard, the present application may be allowed and the impugned FIR as well as the proceedings of the Sessions Case may be quashed and set aside.
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12. Learned advocate Mr.Mahesh Poojara appearing for the respondent no.2 - Complainant fairly submits that a settlement has been arrived at between the parties as the complainant has unequivocally stated in his affidavit dated 02.02.2026 that the monetary transaction between the applicant-accused and the deceased (complainant's father) has been resolved, and the outstanding dues have been waived. It is further stated that the dispute has been amicably resolved between the parties with the intervention of the friends, relatives and community people, therefore, there is no ill-will or grievance amongst them. Furthermore, the complainant has stated in his affidavit that he has no objection if the proceedings are terminated.
13. Learned advocate Mr.Poojara, therefore, urged that taking into consideration the settlement arrived at between the parties and the fact that the complainant does not want to pursue further with the criminal proceedings pursuant to the impugned FIR and the Sessions Case, the application may be allowed and the impugned FIR as well as the proceedings of the Sessions Case may be quashed and set-aside.
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14. Per contra, learned APP Ms.Krina P.Calla appearing for the respondent - State has vehemently opposed the present application and has submitted that having regard to the gravamen and seriousness of the offence, the consent quashing would not be permissible. She has further submitted that the evidence on record clearly establishes the complicity of the present applicant in the alleged offence. While taking this Court through the factual matrix of the case, learned APP Ms.Krina Calla has submitted that due to the mental torture exerted upon the deceased by the applicant in not returning the amount of Rs.1.5 crore advanced to him by the deceased and in issuing threats, the deceased took a drastic step of committing suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan. Ms.Calla has, therefore, submitted that considering the aforesaid, no doubt, there appears complicity of the present applicant in the alleged offence. Hence, she has prayed that the present application may not be entertained and the same may be rejected.
15. This Court is conscious of the fact that in such type of serious offences, the FIR cannot be quashed only on the basis of the consent and the court has to consider the merits of the case and to form an opinion, whether the ingredients of Section 107 Page 8 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined are attracted or not ? In other words, by examining the materials on record, the court would require to form an opinion, whether, there is a prima facie case against the present applicant-accused, which requires a full-fledged trial.
16. It is settled that to attract Section 107 of the IPC, 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 has no choice but to commit suicide. Such instigation must be in the close proximity to the act of committing suicide. In the present case, it appears from the materials on record that except the suicide note and the statement of the complainant, there is no evidence on record to suggest as to what had happened immediately preceding the alleged incident on the fateful day. Even, after perusing the impugned FIR, this Court does not find that the essential ingredients of Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code are attracted.
17. At this juncture, I may refer to the decision of the Supreme Court in case of Shenbagavalli and others vs. Inspector of Police, Kancheepuram District and another, reported in 2025 Page 9 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined INSC 607, wherein the Supreme Court held as under :-
"15. Section 306 requires a person having committed suicide as a first requirement but for abetment of such commission, which is essential, the ingredients must be found in Section 107 IPC. The requirement of abetment under Section 107 IPC is instigation, secondly engagement by himself or with other person in any conspiracy for doing such thing or act or a legal omission in pursuance to that conspiracy and thirdly intentionally aids by any act or an illegal omission of doing that thing. In large number of judgments of this Court it stands established that the essential ingredients of the offense under Section 306 IPC are (i) the abetment; (ii) intention of the accused to aid and instigate or abet the deceased to commit suicide. Merely because the act of an accused is highly insulting to the deceased by using abusive language would not by itself constitute abetment of suicide. There should be evidence suggesting that the accused intended by such act to instigate the deceased to commit suicide. [M.Arjunan vs. State represented by its Inspector of Police, (2019) 3 SCC 315]
16. Similarly, in the case of Ude Singh and Others vs. State of Haryana, (2019) 17 SCC 301 it has been observed in para 16 as follows :-
"16. In cases of alleged abetment of suicide, there must be a proof of direct or indirect act(s) of incitement Page 10 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined to the commission of suicide. It could hardly be disputed that the question of 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.
16.1. For the purpose of finding out if a person has abetted commission of suicide by another, the consideration would be if the accused is guilty of the act of instigation of the act of suicide. As explained and reiterated by this Court in the decisions above referred, instigation means to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or encourage to do an act. If the persons who committed suicide had been hypersensitive and the action of the accused is otherwise not ordinarily expected to induce a similarly circumstanced person to commit suicide, it may not be Page 11 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined safe to hold the accused guilty of abetment of suicide. But, on the other hand, if the accused by his acts and by his continuous course of conduct creates a situation which leads the deceased perceiving no other option except to commit suicide, the case may fall within the four corners of Section 306 IPC. If the accused plays an active role in tarnishing the self-esteem and self- respect of the victim, which eventually draws the victim to commit suicide, the accused may be held guilty of abetment of suicide. The question of mens rea on the part of the accused in such cases would be examined with reference to the actual acts and deeds of the accused and if the acts and deeds are only of such nature where the accused intended nothing more than harassment or snap show of anger, a particular case may fall short of the offence of abetment of suicide. However, if the accused kept on irritating or annoying the deceased by words or deeds until the deceased reacted or was provoked, a particular case may be that of abetment of suicide. Such being the matter of delicate analysis of human behaviour, each case is required to be examined on its own facts, while taking note of all the surrounding factors having bearing on the actions and psyche of the accused and the deceased.
17. These being the essential ingredients for the offence of abetment to suicide, and the said ingredients having not been fulfilled, the further continuation of proceedings would Page 12 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined not be sustainable. The other evidence such as statements, sought to be relied upon by the prosecution, apart from the suicide note, does not in any manner advance the case of the prosecution, particularly when the foundation of the case is the suicide note itself. With the very element of abetment conspicuously absent from the allegations made in the FIR which is primarily based upon the suicide note, the essential requirements for constituting an offence under Section 306 IPC remain unfulfilled. As such, the continuation of the criminal proceedings initiated against the Appellants would amount to an abuse of the process of law. The Court cannot permit such proceedings to degenerate into instruments of harassment or unjust prosecution.
18. The Court would not hesitate to exercise its extraordinary powers which are inherent to quash such proceedings when it comes to fore, and the court is satisfied that allowing the proceedings to continue would be an abuse of process of Court or that the ends of the justice require that the proceedings ought to be quashed. Reference in this regard may be made to the Judgment of this Court in Geo Varghese vs. State of Rajasthan and Another, (2021) 19 SCC 144."
18. This Court has given its thoughtful consideration to the rival submissions canvassed by learned APP appearing for the respondent - State as well as considered the materials on record. Page 13 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined The sole allegation against the present applicant is that he had borrowed Rs.1.5 crore from the deceased and was not returning the amount, and instead, issuing threats to the deceased. There is no evidence or details about the relatives from whom the deceased had borrowed the money and advanced it to the present applicant-accused. No statement of any such relative is on record. Furthermore, there is no documentary evidence suggesting that the deceased had given Rs.1.5 crore to the applicant. The prosecution has failed to produce any call recording details which can prove the fact that the present applicant-accused had spoken with the deceased on the previous day of the occurrence and also called him several times on his mobile phone on 29.01.2024 (i.e. on the day of the occurrence).
19. It further appears that except the suicide note (a 'chit'), there is no other corroborative piece of evidence produced by the prosecution, which can prima facie establish the involvement of the present applicant-accused in the alleged offence. It reveals from the materials on record that there is no direct or indirect nexus between the conduct of the applicant-accused and the suicide by the deceased. Admittedly, it is not the case of the prosecution that the deceased was calling the applicant for Page 14 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined repayment of his dues and the applicant-accused was not answering; rather, the applicant was calling the deceased, and he was not responding. On examination of the record, it appears that the investigating officer has not seized the mobile phones of the deceased and the present applicant; however, he has relied only on the print out of the mobile-phone of the deceased, through which, it appears that one message has been permanently deleted by the applicant. Since the mobile phone of the deceased and the applicant has not been seized or even sent to the FSL, the said message could not have been retrieved. Therefore, it is not established as to what was the message sent by the applicant to the deceased. Furthermore, the certificate under Section 65 of the Indian Evidence Act is also not obtained or produced on record. Admittedly, neither any civil suit has been filed by the deceased nor any legal notice has been served upon the applicant-accused by the deceased regarding his dues, and there is no correspondence or communication between the deceased and the applicant-accused regarding the money dispute. It, therefore, appears that there is no evidence on record which can suggest as to what had happened immediately preceding the incident. The record is also conspicuously silent on the requisite elements of 'mens rea' and 'instigation' as Page 15 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined mandated by Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code (corresponding Section 45 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023). Furthermore, considering the FIR on a demurrer and at its highest, it prima facie appears that none of the ingredients contemplated under Sections 107 and 306 of the Indian Penal Code has been established.
20. This Court is quite conscious of the fact that the power conferred under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (corresponding Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023), is extraordinary, and it should be used sparingly, as the exercise of such power would scuttle the FIR at the threshold. But, if the FIR fails to make out essential ingredients of the offence, the power should be exercised. Upshot of the above discussion, the present application deserves consideration.
21. In the result, the present application is allowed. The First Information Report No.11210045240774 of 2024 lodged before the Pandesara Police Station, Surat city, for the offences punishable under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code; as well as the proceedings of the Sessions Case No.654 of 2024 pending Page 16 of 17 Uploaded by M.A. SAIYED(HC00172) on Thu May 07 2026 Downloaded on : Thu May 07 22:55:36 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/2395/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/05/2026 undefined before the learned 15th Additional Sessions Judge, Surat, are hereby ordered to be quashed and set-aside qua the present applicant. All consequential proceedings arising pursuant thereto are also quashed and set-aside.
22. Rule made absolute. Direct service is permitted.
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