Madhya Pradesh High Court
Sonal Bajaj vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 21 March, 2025
Author: Maninder S. Bhatti
Bench: Maninder S. Bhatti
NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:14161
1 MCRC-53287-2024
IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA
PRADESH
AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MANINDER S. BHATTI
ON THE 21st OF MARCH, 2025
MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 53287 of 2024
SONAL BAJAJ
Versus
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH
Appearance:
Shri Sheersh Agrawal - Advocate for the applicant.
Ms. Samta Jain - Govt. Advocate for respondent-State.
Shri Sandeep Kumar Mishra - Advocate for the Objector.
ORDER
This is a petition filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. seeking
quashment of the FIR / Crime No.22/2024 registered at the Police
Station, Hatta District Damoh in respect of the offence punishable
under Section 306 of IPC and ensued proceedings.
2. Learned counsel for the applicant contends that this is a case
where without application of mind, an offence under Section 306 of
IPC has been registered against the present applicant. It is contended
by the counsel contends that as per the allegations levelled by the
prosecution, the deceased was employed with the present applicant
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who is running a shop of various products of Haldiram Company.
As per prosecution, as every month, the present applicant was
making deduction from the salary/wages of the deceased, therefore,
under such circumstances, the deceased committed suicide. Learned
counsel for the applicant contends that in a master and servant
relationship, if an employer or master takes any decision regarding
the services performed by the servant or employee, the same cannot
be brought within the framework of instigation or incitement as per
Section 107 of IPC. It is contended by the counsel that to attract the
provisions of Section 306 of IPC, the allegation of instigation has to
be specific and the allegations should be direct and active. In the
present case, as per prosecution, a suicide note was left by the
deceased and as per the suicide note, as the present applicant was
making deduction from the salary/wages of the deceased, he
committed suicide. The said allegations do not constitute an offence
of abetment. Thus, counsel submits that the FIR and the ensued
proceedings deserve to be quashed.
3. Per contra, learned counsel for the State has opposed the
prayer and submitted that the deceased left a suicide note and
levelled specific allegations against the present applicant thus in
terms of the suicide note and also the statements of witnesses
namely Deepak Soni, Deepesh Soni and Manohar Lal Soni, the
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allegations are established. Thus, counsel submits that the petition
deserves to be dismissed.
4. Learned counsel for the Objector has also opposed the
prayer and submitted that the petitioner deserves to be dismissed.
The present applicant created circumstances which ultimately
compelled the deceased to commit suicide. It is contended by the
counsel that the deceased was working as Sweeper/Peon in the shop
of the present applicant unfortunately, the salary of the deceased was
being deducted by the present applicant without any cause, the
deceased was not being allowed to leave the job also and undue
pressure was being mounted by the present applicant. It is contended
by the counsel that it is very difficult for a poor person, to survive in
absence of the salary. In the present case, unfortunately the present
applicant with his direct and positive act instigated the deceased to
commit suicide which is evident from perusal of suicide note. Thus,
counsel submits that the petition deserves to be dismissed.
5. Heard the submissions and perused the case diary.
6. In the present case, the deceased died while leaving behind
the suicide note in which the deceased alleged that the present
applicant carried out the deduction from his salary every month and
he also stated in suicide note that the present applicant was
responsible for his death. There are statements of other witnesses
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like deceased's uncle-Deepak Soni, mother-Urmila @ Savita Soni,
father-Manohar Lal Soni, brother-Rahul Soni and brother-Deepesh
Soni, of the deceased. The statement of Rahul Soni reflects that
when the deceased expressed his wish to leave/resign from job, he
was threatened by the present applicant. The statement of brother of
the deceased also reflects that on 02/01/2024, the deceased had
called his brother Rahul Soni and had informed him that he was
being threatened at the instance of present applicant.
7. A perusal of record prima facie reflects that in the present
case, the applicant created circumstances which ultimately
constrained the deceased to commit suicide as a last resort.
8. The factum of instigation and abetment has already been
taken note of by the Apex Court in the case of Ramesh Kumar Vs.
State of Chhattisgarh - (2001) 9 SCC 648. In paragraphs 20 & 21 of
the judgment it is ruled thus :-
"20. Instigation is to goad, urge forward,
provoke, incite or encourage to do "an act". To
satisfy the requirement of instigation 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
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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
o r 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.
21. In State of W.B. v. Orilal Jaiswal
[(1994) 1 SCC 73 : 1994 SCC (Cri) 107] this
Court has cautioned that the court should be
extremely careful in assessing the facts and
circumstances of each case and the evidence
adduced in the trial for the purpose of finding
whether the cruelty meted out to the victim had
in fact induced her to end her life by
committing suicide. If it transpires to the court
that a victim committing suicide was
hypersensitive to ordinary petulance, discord
and differences in domestic life quite common
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to the society to which the victim belonged and
such petulance, discord and differences were
not expected to induce a similarly
circumstanced individual in a given society to
commit suicide, the conscience of the court
should not be satisfied for basing a finding that
the accused charged of abetting the offence of
suicide should be found guilty."
[Emphasis supplied]
9. Therefore, considering the suicide note as well as statement
of witnesses prima facie it reflects that the present applicant was
creating such circumstances which compelled the deceased to
commit suicide as a last resort. Hence, this Court is not inclined to
entertain this petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C.
10. Accordingly, the petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C.
stands dismissed.
(MANINDER S. BHATTI)
JUDGE
mn
