Bombay High Court
Usman Hasan Tadvi vs State Of Maharashtra on 4 August, 2022
Bench: Bharati Dangre
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO.2063 OF 2022
Usman Hasan Tadvi .. Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra .. Respondent
...
Mr.Swaraj Jadhav for the Applicant.
Mr.S.H.Yadav, A.P.P. for the State/Respondent.
API Shailendra Mhatre attached to Shantinagar Police Station,
present.
...
CORAM: BHARATI DANGRE, J.
DATED : 04th AUGUST, 2022
P.C:-
1. The applicant is apprehending his arrest in C.R.No.221 of
2022 registered with Shantinagar Police Station on
21/04/2022, which invokes Sections 306, 498-A of the IPC.
2. The complaint is fled b the mother of one Afrin, the wife
of the applicant, who committed suicide on 31/01/2022 and
the applicant is accused of a etting the said suicide. The
complainant alleged that the marriage of the applicant with
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the deceased was solemnized on 24/02/2013 and he is
working as a police consta le. Out of the said wedlock, two
children are orn, one ob aged 6 bears and another girl aged
2 bears.
The complainant alleged that for some period of time, the
couple shared a cordial relationship, ut it is informed to her
b her daughter that the applicant was demanding a sum of
Rs.2,00,000/-. Without giving anb details, it is stated that a
sum of Rs.1,50,000/- was orrowed and given to the applicant
and he took a new house in Bhiwandi. It is alleged that he was
demanding further amount to repab the loan, which he has
taken and had put restrictions to Afrin to visit her parental
house. It is alleged that he used to take gi e at her and at
times, quarrel with her. In the bear 2021, she suffered a
miscarriage and had ecome verb weak. The complainant
states that she was updated a out the ill-treatment b her
daughter and, therefore, her mo ile phone was taken awab
from her. But, sometimes b deception, she used to talk with
them and he used to quarrel with him. On 31/01/2022, she
hanged herself to death and theb reached her house
immediatelb.
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3. The learned counsel for the applicant would su mit that
the marriage was solemnized etween the applicant and the
deceased 9 bears ack and 2 children were orn out of the said
wedlock. Bb inviting mb attention to the complaint, the
su mission is, the allegations are general in nature and do not
specifb as regards the demand or anb instigation to commit
suicide.
4. As far as Section 306 of IPC is concerned, the Hon' le
Apex Court in the case of Arna Manoranjan Goswami Vs.
State of Maharashtra & Ors.1 has specifcallb o served as
under :-
"50. The frst segment of Section 107 defnes a etment
as the instigation of a person to do a particular thing. The
second segment defnes it with reference to engaging in a
conspiracb with one or more other persons for the doing of
a thing, and an act or illegal omission in pursuance of the
conspiracb. Under the third segment, a etment is founded
on intentionallb aiding the doing of a thing either b an act
or omission. These provisions have een construed
specifcallb in the context of Section 306 to which a
reference is necessarb in order to furnish the legal
foundation for assessing the contents of the FIR. These
1 (2021) 2 SCC 427
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provisions have een construed in the earlier judgments of
this Court in State of W.B. v. Orilal Jaiswal, Randhir Singh
v. State of Punja , Kishori Lal v. State of M.P. and
Kishangiri Mangalgiri Goswami v. State of Gujarat. In
Amalendu Pal v. State of W.B., Mukundakam Sharma, J.,
speaking for a two-Judge Bench of this Court and having
adverted to the earlier decisions, o served : (SCC P.712,
para 12)
"12. ...It is also to e orne in mind that in cases of
alleged a etment of suicide there must e proof of
direct or indirect acts of incitement to the commission
of suicide. Merelb on the allegation of harassment
without there eing anb positive action 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
sustaina le."
51. The Court noted that efore a person mab e said
to have a etted the commission of suicide, theb "must have
plabed an active role b an act of instigation or b doing
certain act to facilitate the commissione of suicide".
Instigation, as this Court held in Kishori Lal, "literallb
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means to provoke, incite, urge on or ring a out b
persuasion to do anbthing". In S.S.Chheena v. Vijab Kumar
Mahajan, a two-Judge Bench of this Court, speaking
through Dalveer Bhandari, J, o served : (SCC p. 197, para
25)
"25. A etment involves a mental process of instigating
a person or intentionallb 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 e sustained. The intention of the legislature
and the ratio of the cases decided b this Court is clear
that in order to convict a person under Section 306 IPC
there has to e 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 een intended to push the deceased into
such a position that he committed suicide."
Since the offence of a etment involves instigation or
incitement to commit an offence, which is conspicuouslb
a sent and, further, the proximitb of the alleged harassment is
also apparentlb a sent in the complaint, prima facie, Section
306 cannot e invoked. As far as Section 498-A is concerned,
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it can e seen that the allegations are vague in nature, without
giving anb details. Further, the applicant has placed on record
the receipts, refecting the pabments made b him to
Squarefeet Infrastructure LLP from whom the applicant had
purchased a house in Bhiwandi. The ank statement also
refects that at regular interval, the amount was deducted
from his salarb. In the wake of the a ove, the accusations
faced b the applicant are suscipious. In anb case, the
applicant will take the consequences of the accusations at the
time of trial, ut at present, his custodial interrogation is not
warranted.
Needless to state that the o servations made a ove are
prima facie in nature and are limited to the extent of
adjudication of the present application and shall not e
construed as fnding on the merits of the trial.
: ORDER :
(a) Application is allowed.
( ) In the event of arrest in connection with
C.R.No.221 of 2022 registered with Shantinagar Police
Station, applicant-Usman Hasan Tadvi shall e released
on ail on furnishing P.R. ond to the extent of
Rs.25,000/- with one or two sureties of the like amount.
M.M.Salgaonkar
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(c) The applicant shall report to the concerned
police station on 6th, 7th and 8th August, 2022 etween
10.00 a.m. to 12 noon and, thereafter, as and when called
for.
(d) The applicant shall not directlb or indirectlb
make anb inducement, threat or promise to anb person
acquainted with facts of case so as to dissuade him from
disclosing the facts to Court or anb Police Offcer and shall
not tamper with evidence.
( SMT. BHARATI DANGRE, J.)
M.M.Salgaonkar
