Gujarat High Court
Jay Girishbhai Mavani vs State Of Gujarat on 22 September, 2023
Bench: M. R. Mengdey
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/5082/2014 ORDER DATED: 22/09/2023
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 5082 of 2014
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JAY GIRISHBHAI MAVANI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & 1 other(s)
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Appearance:
MR. NAYAN L. GUPTA, ADVOCATE for MR ASHISH M DAGLI(2203) for the
Applicant(s) No. 1
MR HIRENKUMAR M NIYALCHANDANI(9959) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR. KANVA M. ANTANI, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M. R. MENGDEY
Date : 22/09/2023
ORAL ORDER
1. By filing the present Application under Section 482 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Applicant [Original Accused] has prayed
for quashing and setting aside the FIR being I-CR No. 5 of 2014
registered with Mahila Police Station, Rajkot for the offences punishable
under Sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code.
2. Heard learned Advocate Mr. Ashish M. Dagli for the Applicant.
Learned Advocate Mr. Dagli submitted that the present Applicant
happened to be the husband of the deceased. The deceased and the
present Applicant had married on 5.12.2013. It was a love marriage
against the liking of the parents of the deceased. The deceased wanted
to reunite with her parental family along with the present Applicant.
However, since the deceased and the present Applicant had got
married against the wish of her family members, her parents and other
relatives were not ready to accept the said marriage and they wanted
the deceased to come back to her house leaving the present Applicant.
The father of the deceased i.e. the present first informant had also
issued a public notice in daily newspaper on 12.12.2013 disowning the
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deceased and debarring her from all the family properties. The same
was taken very seriously by the deceased and thus she was thereafter
depressed. She was making all attempts to reunite with her family and
wanted her family to accept the present Applicant as their son-in-law.
However, her parents and other family members were not ready for the
same. The deceased was therefore under tremendous pressure, and
therefore, she committed suicide on 24.12.2013 i.e. just after few days
of their marriage. The deceased had married to the present Applicant
on her own wish and she wanted to be with the present Applicant.
There was no occasion of any quarrel between the deceased and the
present Applicant during their short marriage life. Learned Advocate
Mr. Dagli has further submitted that the alleged incident had taken place
on 24.12.2013 whereas the present FIR came to be lodged on
30.1.2014 i.e. after a period of more than one month from the date of
incident. This indicates that the present FIR is nothing but an
afterthought and is lodged with fabricated facts. Learned Advocate Mr.
Dagli further submitted that the matter has been amicably settled
between the parties subsequently, pending the present Application, and
the first informant i.e. the present Respondent No.2 is not willing to
proceed any further with the proceedings of the said FIR. He therefore
submitted to allow the present Application and quash and set aside the
impugned FIR.
3. The Application is opposed by learned APP Mr. Kanva M. Antani
inter alia contending that the marriage life between the deceased and
the present Applicant was merely of 20 days. On the basis of the
record, he submitted that the present Applicant did not attend the last
rites of the deceased, which indicates that the relations between the
deceased and the present Applicant were not cordial. Thus, there is a
reason to believe that the deceased had committed suicide because of
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the strained relationship between her and the present Applicant. He
therefore submitted to dismiss the present Application.
4. Though served, nobody appeared for Respondent No.2 - Original
Complainant.
5. Heard learned Advocates for the parties and perused the record.
6. The present Application was filed by the Applicant on 4.4.2014.
This Court vide order dated 7.4.2014 had issued 'Rule' in the present
Application and had granted ad interim relief in favour of the present
Applicant, whereby, the investigation of the FIR was stayed. The said
interim relief was operating till 28.7.2023. On 28.7.2023, this Court had
modified the interim relief granted by this Court vide its earlier order and
had permitted the Investigation Officer to carry on with the investigation
without taking any coercive steps against the present Applicant.
7. As it is emerging from the record, the present Applicant and the
deceased were knowing each other since long time prior to the incident
and both had developed liking for each other, which resulted into love
affair between them. The relation between the deceased and the
Applicant was not liked by the family of the deceased. The present
Applicant as well as the deceased, since, were in love affair, wanted to
marry each other. However, since the family of the deceased was not
agreeable for the same, the deceased had eloped with the present
Applicant and they have performed their marriage on 5.12.2013. This
marriage was against the wish and liking of the parents of the
deceased. The parents of the deceased and family members had
severed all ties with her after the marriage. The respondent No.2 had
also issued a public notice in the daily newspaper on 12.12.2013,
whereby the public at large was intimated that their daughter namely
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Ankita i.e. deceased had performed marriage at Ahmedabad with the
present applicant against their wish. The same was not approved by
them. It is also mentioned in the said notice that the deceased was
debarred from all the family properties and she was disowned by the
family. It is also mentioned that the family of the first informant does not
wish to have any financial or family relations with deceased and the
present applicant.
8. The applicant has produced the photographs of the marriage
performed by the applicant and the deceased and several other
photographs were also produced. Looking to the said photographs, it
appears that the deceased and the present applicant were happy with
each other.
9. The transcripts of the telephone talks of the deceased with her
brother and other family members is produced on record. These
transcripts indicate that the deceased was eager to re-unite with her
parental family with her husband i.e. the present applicant. Even, on
the discussions with her brother, she asks her brother whether they
would accept her with her husband or not, to which the brother replies
that, since, presently there is enormous anger against her, it is not
possible to accept her with her husband. However, if she returns to her
parental house alone, she would be accepted. This indicates that the
deceased wanted to be with the present applicant and wanted her
parental family to accept the present applicant as her husband. Had
there been any trouble in the marriage life between the deceased and
the applicant, she would not have been willing to be with the present
applicant and want her parental family to accept the present applicant.
There are transcripts of the telephone talks with her other family
members after her marriage on record. The perusal of the said
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transcripts indicate that the relatives, with whom the deceased had
telephone talks, had inquired about her wellbeing and her happiness in
life to which the deceased had replied positively and had stated that
everything was good in her life and she was happy with the present
applicant. The transcripts further indicate that the deceased was very
much upset with the decision of her parents and other family members
to disown her as she had got married against their wish. The transcripts
of the telephone talks between the deceased and the present applicant
are also produced on record, wherein, they are found to be discussing
the issue as regards behaviour of the parents of the deceased and the
applicant is seen to be consoling the deceased.
10. Upon perusal of the impugned FIR and the other material
available on record, there appears nothing in it to the effect that the
applicant had induced or forced the deceased to commit suicide. In the
absence of any such material, it cannot be said that the applicant had
abated the suicide of the deceased.
11. The deceased had committed suicide on 24.12.2013, whereas
the present FIR came to be lodged by respondent No.2 on 30.01.2014
i.e. after a period of more than one month from the date of incident.
There is nothing on record to indicate that the deceased had ever
intimated her parental family about her having any trouble with the
present applicant in her marriage life. In that view of the matter the fact
that the FIR has been lodged by respondent No.2 after a period more
than one month from the date of incident, raises doubt about the
genuineness of the allegations made in the FIR. Had the present
applicant been the real reason for the deceased to commit suicide, prior
to committing suicide, she would have communicated the same to her
parental family. At the cost of repetition, it is required to be noted that
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her family members were ready to accept her without the present
applicant, therefore, if the deceased was having trouble from the
present applicant, she would have happily left the present applicant and
gone to her parental house. The talks of the deceased with her family
members indicate that the deceased appeared to have been depressed
by the behaviour of her parents and other family members. The public
notice dated 12.12.2013 appears to have rubbed salt to injury and
because of this reason the deceased appeared to have committed
suicide on 24.12.2013. There is nothing on record indicating any
complicity on the part of the present applicant which may create doubt
about his involvement in the offence in question. On the contrary, as
discussed herein above, the deceased wanted to live with the present
applicant and wanted her family to accept the present applicant.
12. After the interim relief was modified by this Court as stated herein
above vide order dated 28.07.2023, the Investigation Officer recorded
the statement of respondent No. 2 on 21.08.2023 wherein he had stated
that the talks of settlement are going on between the parties and he
does not want to proceed any further with the proceedings of the
present FIR. This conduct on part of respondent No.2 also raises doubt
about the genuineness of the allegations levelled in the impugned FIR.
13. The Hon'ble Apex Court in its recent judgment in the case of
V.P.Singh Etc. v/s State of Punjab & Ors. in paragraph 17, referring to
the earlier judgments in case of State of West Bengal v/s Indrajit Kundu
reported in 2019 (10) SCC 188 and Ramesh Kumar v/s State of
Chhattisgarh reported in 2001 (9) SCC 618 has observed:
"20. Instigation is to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or
encourage to do "an act". To satisfy the requirement of instigation
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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 consequences to actually follow
cannot be said to be instigation.
In fact in Indrajit Kundu case (Supra) the judgment referred to us
in Sanju case (supra) was once again referred to where the
husband and wife's quarrel resulted in the husband telling the
wife "to go and die" and the suicide was committed two days
later, was not said to have proximity to the quarrel even if stated
in the suicide note."
14. In the present case, the record is absolutely silent as regards the
conduct on part of the present Applicant which would have driven the
deceased to commit suicide. At the cost of repetition, it is required to be
noted that the present Applicant and the deceased had performed a
love marriage and their marriage span was merely of 20 days. In such
a short span, it is hard to believe that the Applicant must have
conducted in the manner which would have driven the deceased to
commit suicide.
15. Having regard to the aforesaid facts, the Application is allowed.
The FIR being I-CR No. 5 of 2014 registered with Mahila Police Station,
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R/CR.MA/5082/2014 ORDER DATED: 22/09/2023
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Rajkot for the offence under Sections 306 and 498(A) of the Indian
Penal Code and all other consequential proceedings arising there from
are hereby quashed and set aside so far as it relates to the present
Applicant. Rule is made absolute.
(M. R. MENGDEY,J)
J.N.W / 1
