Rajeshkumar Amritlal Akhani vs State Of Gujarat
2025 Latest Caselaw 1262 Guj

Gujarat High Court

Rajeshkumar Amritlal Akhani vs State Of Gujarat on 23 July, 2025

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                          R/CR.MA/12484/2025                                 ORDER DATED: 23/07/2025

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                                  IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                     R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR ANTICIPATORY BAIL) NO. 12484
                                                of 2025

                                                      With
                                   R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 12485 of 2025
                                                      With
                                   R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 12528 of 2025
                     ==========================================================
                                               RAJESHKUMAR AMRITLAL AKHANI
                                                          Versus
                                                    STATE OF GUJARAT
                     ==========================================================
                     Appearance:
                     MR VANDAN K BAXI(5863) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
                     MR SUDHIR I. NANAVATI, LD. SENIOR ADVOCATE for NANAVATI &
                     NANAVATI(1933) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
                     MR DHAWAL JAYSWAL, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
                     SHYAMAL K BHIMANI(8233) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
                     ==========================================================

                        CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M. R. MENGDEY

                                                         Date : 23/07/2025

                                                    COMMON ORAL ORDER

1. The Applicants have filed these Applications under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for enlarging the Applicants on Anticipatory Bail in connection with FIR being C.R. No.I-11217020250374 of 2025 registered with B- Division Patan Police Station, Patan for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 108 and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

2. Heard learned senior advocate Shri Sudhir I. Nanavati with learned advocate Mr. Vandan K. Baxi appearing for the applicants. He submitted that the applicants herein happens to be the wife and the brothers-in-law of the deceased. The deceased had attempted to commit suicide on 09.04.2025 and

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died on 19.04.2025 and thereafter the present FIR came to be lodged on 21.04.2025. Thus, the FIR has been lodged after a period of more than 10 days from the date of incident. The delay caused in lodging the FIR has not been explained. He further submitted that previously, the brothers-in-law of the deceased were doing business with the deceased in stock market and other commodities. The deceased was in the habit of indulging in the activity of betting and therefore, there used to be differences between the parties and because of the same, the brothers-in- law of the deceased had stopped doing business with the deceased. He submitted that having regard to the facts narrated in the FIR, the applicants herein, cannot be said to have instigated the deceased to commit suicide nor can it be said that the behavior of the present applicants with the deceased was such that the deceased was left with no other alternative but to commit suicide. The applicant-Ritaben who happens to be the wife of the deceased had lodged a complaint for an offence punishable under section 85, 115(2), 296(B), 351(2) and 54 of the BNS against the deceased in the month of February 2025. In the said FIR, it is mentioned that the deceased was in the habit of betting and therefore had sustained a huge loss and because of the same, she was asked to bring money from her parents. The deceased also used to subject his wife i.e. Ritaben to physical and mental torture. He submitted that, 15 days prior to the incident, the deceased had gone to meet his mother and had informed her that he was fed up with life and was going to commit suicide. Prior to that also, the deceased had given threats of committing suicide to the present applicants and because of the same, a complaint had been lodged by the applicants with the police authorities where the deceased had

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executed a bond for good conduct. No act on the part of the present applicants was responsible for driving the deceased to commit suicide. He therefore submitted to allow the present applications and enlarge the applicants on an anticipatory bail. Learned senior advocate has sought to rely upon the following judgments in support of the submissions:

1) In case of Nipun Aneja and Others V/S State of Uttar Pradesh reported in 2024 SCC Online SC 4091

2) In case of Mahendra Awase V/S State of Madhya Pradesh reported in (2025) 4 SCC 801

3. Learned APP has opposed the present applications, contending that the deceased was continuously subjected to physical and mental torture at the hands of the present applicants and because of the same, the deceased had committed suicide. The FIR lodged against the deceased by his wife namely Ritaben was an afterthought to the letter written by the deceased to his two sons. The material available on the record indicates that the applicants were interested in usurping the house which was purchased by the deceased in the name of his wife namely Ritaben and wanted the deceased to be ousted from the said house. He submitted that, after the incident, when the deceased was under treatment, his dying declaration was recorded by the Executive Magistrate wherein also he has named the applicants herein being responsible for his suicide. He therefore submitted to dismiss the present application.

4. Learned advocate Mr. Shyamal K. Bhimani appearing for

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original respondent has also opposed the present applications.

5. Heard learned Advocates for the parties. From the material it appears that the deceased had attempted suicide by self- immolating on 09.04.2025 and he expired due to the burn injuries sustained by him on 19.04.2025. In the interregnum, when the deceased was under treatment, his dying declaration came to be recorded by the Executive Magistrate wherein he has stated that the applicants herein were responsible for driving him to commit suicide. He has further stated in the dying declaration that the applicants herein wanted the deceased to be Ghar-jamai. The investigating agency has recorded the statement of one Maheshkumar Bhogilal Rawal. In his statement, the witness has stated that the deceased had informed him that the applicants herein were trying to obtain his signatures forcibly on the divorce papers. The other witness namely Farsuram Manilal Thakkar has stated in his statement that the applicant-Rajesh had gone to his place one month prior to the incident and had informed him that the bungalow situated at Patan was in the name of his sister Ritaben that is one of the applicants and his sister wanted to go and reside there and therefore he wanted the witness to ask the deceased to vacate the said bungalow or else he will go there with the police. The said bungalow had been purchased by the deceased in the name of his wife i.e. Ritaben. The material available on the record also indicates that few days prior to the incident, the deceased had gone to meet his mother namely Jayaben Thakkar and had also informed her that he was fed up with life as was harassed by the present applicants and wanted to commit suicide. In the month of January 2025, the deceased had written a letter to his sons. Thereafter, he was

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called by the present applicants for a meeting and thereafter the FIR came to be lodged by one of the applicants namely Ritaben against the deceased. It has also come on record that the applicants herein had forced the deceased to transfer all his movable and immovable properties in the name of one of the applicants namely Ritaben. The record also indicates that prior to committing suicide, the deceased had also recorded a video indicating the cause for his suicide. The telephone calls which had taken place between the deceased and the applicants were also recorded and on the basis of those phone calls, the deceased was being harassed. From the letter written by the deceased to his sons, it appears that the applicants herein had deprived the deceased of the company of his other family members.

6. Having regard to the aforesaid aspects, the applications for Anticipatory Bail are dismissed.

(M. R. MENGDEY,J) AHS