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Gujarat High Court
Rajesh @Raju Lunkaranbhai Jain vs State Of Gujarat on 7 May, 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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
(VIMAL K. VYAS, J.)
/MOINUDDIN
