# Ram Avtar Gupta v. State of U.P. & Anr

- **Citation:** (2020) 1 ILRA 474
- **Court:** High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
- **Decided:** 2019-09-24
- **Case number:** Application U/S 482 No. 35253 of 2019
- **Bench:** Karuna Nand Bajpayee
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/allahabad-high-court/ram-avtar-gupta-v-state-of-u-p-anr-45085
- **Pages:** 5

## Headnote

A. Abetment of Suicide - Section 306 of
Indian
Penal
Code
-
somebody's
misbehavior also may abet a person to
commit suicide.

There may be cases where the nature of illtreatment meted out to a person, the
constancy of humiliation to which the other
person has been subjected to, and the
continuation of ill-treatment towards that
person may be so extreme that even a normal
self-respecting person having normal levels of
sensitivity may be driven to commit suicide.
The act of abatement may be direct and it can
also be indirect in a particular case. (Para 10)
1 All. Ram Avtar Gupta Vs. State of U.P. & Anr.
475
Application u/s 482 rejected. (E-10)
List of cases cited: -

## Text

474 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
earlier in accordance with law. For all these
reasons as discussed above, this Court does
not find any substance in the contention
raised by the applicant's counsel that the
only way permissible to get the F.I.R.
registered, was to move an application under
Section 156(3) of Cr.P.C. and the matter
should not have been brought to the notice
of the higher Administrative Authorities of
the District. Nor this Court finds any
substance in the contention raised by the
applicant's counsel that the initiative taken
on the administrative side by the District
Magistrate where by it set up a fact-finding
inquiry, he did anything wrong. In the
considered opinion of this Court, what the
District Magistrate did was not only right but
it was his duty to do what he did. Any coldshouldering
on
his
part
in
such
circumstances could have been termed as
nothing but a meek refusal on his part to
look into what was rotting under his nose
and what was growing wild right under his
foot.

7. No other submission worth
consideration has been raised by the
counsel. All other contentions that have
been raised relate to pure questions of fact
which can be adjudicated upon only during
the course of trial and related to
appreciation of evidence. In exercise of
inherent jurisdiction, this Court does not
propose to have a pre-trial of accused
before the actual trial may began. The
perusal of the F.I.R. and the other material
collected
during
the
course
of
investigation
clearly
disclose
the
commission of cognizable offnece and the
matter certainly does not fall in any of the
categories recognized by the Apex Court
in its decision given in the case of State of
Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal 1992 SCC(Cr.)
426 on the basis of which the impugned
proceedings could have been quashed.
This Court also does not see any illegality
much less than any abuse of court's
process having been committed by the
court below and in the wake of the
allegations made in the F.I.R. and the
material that has been collected during the
course of investigation in the case there is
no good reason to scuttle the impugned
criminal proceedings at its threshold.

8. The application lacks merit and
stands dismissed.
----------
(2020)1ILR474

ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL SIDE
DATED: ALLAHABAD 24.09.2019

BEFORE
THE HON'BLE KARUNA NAND BAJPAYEE, J.

Application U/S 482 No. 35253 of 2019

Ram Avtar Gupta ...Applicant
Versus
State of U.P. & Anr. ...Opposite Parties

Counsel for the Applicant:
Sri Kuldeep Kumar

Counsel for the Opposite Parties:
A.G.A.

A. Abetment of Suicide - Section 306 of
Indian
Penal
Code
-
somebody's
misbehavior also may abet a person to
commit suicide.

There may be cases where the nature of illtreatment meted out to a person, the
constancy of humiliation to which the other
person has been subjected to, and the
continuation of ill-treatment towards that
person may be so extreme that even a normal
self-respecting person having normal levels of
sensitivity may be driven to commit suicide.
The act of abatement may be direct and it can
also be indirect in a particular case. (Para 10)
1 All. Ram Avtar Gupta Vs. State of U.P. & Anr.
475
Application u/s 482 rejected. (E-10)
List of cases cited: -

1. Chandra Deo Singh Vs. Prokash Chandra
Bose AIR 1963 SC 1430

2. Vadilal Panchal Vs. Sattatraya Dulaji
Ghadigaonker AIR 1960 SC 1113

3. Smt. Nagawwa Vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa
Konjalgi 1976 3 SCC 736

4. R.P. Kapur Vs. State of Punjab AIR 1960 866

5. State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal 1992 SCC
(Cr.) 426

(Delivered by Hon'ble Karuna Nand
Bajpayee, J.)

1. This application u/s 482 Cr.P.C.
has been filed seeking the quashing of the
entire criminal proceedings of Criminal
Case No. 8831 of 2019, arising out of Case
Crime No. 115 of 2017, under Section 306
I.P.C.,
P.S.-
Kharkhaunda,
District-
Meerut as well as the impugned charge
sheet no. 282 of 2018, dated 15.7.2019 and
the cognizance order dated 24.7.2019
passed by the C.J.M., Meerut in the
aforementioned case.

2. Heard applicant's counsel and
learned AGA.

3. Entire record has been perused.

4. Submission of counsel for the
applicant is that there is no direct evidence
available to show that the applicant abetted
the deceased to commit suicide. There are
no such words spoken by the deceased
which may be said to have been aimed
with the purpose of instigating the
deceased to put an end to his life.
Contention is that in the absence of any
such direct evidence of abetment the
applicant cannot be held guilty for the
offence
punishable
u/s
306
I.P.C.
Argument is that a man may behave
properly with the other and may also
misbehave
with
them,
but
if
his
misbehaviour leads the other man to take
the extreme step, this should not be termed
to be an act of abetment on the part of the
person who is guilty of such misbehaviour.
Certain other submissions have also been
raised on behalf of the applicant's counsel
assailing the truthfulness of prosecution
evidence. Several other contentions have
also been raised by the applicant's counsel
but all of them relate to disputed questions
of fact. The court has also been called
upon to adjudge the testimonial worth of
prosecution evidence and evaluate the
same on the basis of various intricacies of
factual details which have been touched
upon by the learned counsel. The veracity
and credibility of material furnished on
behalf of the prosecution has been
questioned and false implication has been
pleaded.

5. The law regarding sufficiency of
material which may justify the summoning
of accused and also the court's decision to
proceed against him in a given case is well
settled. The court has to eschew itself from
embarking upon a roving enquiry into the
last details of the case. It is also not
advisable to adjudge whether the case shall
ultimately end in conviction or not. Only a
prima facie satisfaction of the court about
the existence of sufficient ground to
proceed in the matter is required.

6. Through a catena of decisions
given by Hon'ble Apex Court this legal
aspect has been expatiated upon at length
and the law that has evolved over a period
of several decades is too well settled. The
476 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
cases of (1) Chandra Deo Singh Vs.
Prokash Chandra Bose AIR 1963 SC
1430 , (2) Vadilal Panchal Vs. Dattatraya
Dulaji Ghadigaonker AIR 1960 SC 1113
and (3) Smt. Nagawwa Vs. Veeranna
Shivalingappa Konjalgi 1976 3 SCC 736
may be usefully referred to in this regard.

7. The Apex Court decisions given in
the case of R.P. Kapur Vs. State of
Punjab AIR 1960 SC 866 and in the case
of State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal
1992 SCC(Cr.) 426 have also recognized
certain categories by way of illustration
which may justify the quashing of a
complaint or charge sheet. Some of them
are akin to the illustrative examples given
in the above referred case of Smt.
Nagawwa Vs. Veeranna Shivalingappa
Konjalgi 1976 3 SCC 736. The cases
where the allegations made against the
accused or the evidence collected by the
Investigating Officer do not constitute any
offence or where the allegations are absurd
or extremely improbable impossible to
believe or where prosecution is legally
barred or where criminal proceeding is
malicious and malafide instituted with
ulterior motive of grudge and vengeance
alone may be the fit cases for the High
Court in which the criminal proceedings
may be quashed. Hon'ble Apex Court in
Bhajan Lal's case has recognized certain
categories in which Section-482 of Cr.P.C.
or Article-226 of the Constitution may be
successfully invoked.

8. Illumined by the case law referred
to herein above, this Court has adverted to
the entire record of the case.

9. Perusal of the F.I.R. shows that it
has been lodged by the opposite party no.2
Arvind Kumar with the allegations that his
father late Bijendra Singh, who was
working with the U.P. Police as S.C.P. 37
C.P., was posted as a Court Muharrir in
the court of S.D.M., Sadar, Muzaffar
Nagar. It was further alleged that on
account of the missing of a file of a
challani report u/s 151 Cr.P.C. the
applicant Ram Avtar Gupta, posted as
S.D.M., badly humiliated the father of the
first informant and on account of the same
his father committed suicide. A suicide
note was also found near the body. It was
further stated in the F.I.R. that when his
father came back from the office he was in
a depressed state of sombre dejection. The
father thereafter went out on a stroll but
did not return back. A missing report was
thereafter lodged and during the said
period, a body was found hanging at the
Kazipur cremation ground.

10. So far as the contention raised by
the applicant's counsel about the absence
of direct evidence is concerned, any fact
can be proved both by direct evidence as
well as indirect circumstantial evidence.
Abetment is also an offence which is
provable
by
circumstantial
evidence.
There may be cases where somebody's
misbehaviour may be such that the other
person who has been misbehaved with
should not be expected to take the extreme
step of committing suicide. But there may
be cases where the nature of ill-treatment
meted out to a person, the constancy of
humiliation to which the other person has
been subjected to, and the continuation of
ill-treatment towards that person may be
so extreme that even a normal selfrespecting person having normal levels of
sensitivity may be driven to commit
suicide. If in a given case we find material
to indicate that it is not a case where
taking of the extreme step by the deceased
may be attributed to any ultra sensitivity of
mind and where taking the extreme step
1 All. Ram Avtar Gupta Vs. State of U.P. & Anr.
477
may not be said to be unexpectedly
disproportionate
overreaction
of
the
deceased, the Court may find reason to
hold
that
such
kind
of
incessant
misbehaviour would be tantamount to
instigation and abetment. The court finds
substance in the contention raised by
learned A.G.A. when he submitted that in
the definition of Section 498A I.P.C. such
kind of ill-treatment finds its mention in so
many words and the same has been made
punishable. The reading of the definition
would indicate that there may be such illtreatment or cruelty committed against a
person which may likely lead or drive that
man to commit suicide. The act of
abement may be direct and it can also be
indirect in a particular case. So far as the
allegations of the present case are
concerned, we find in the material
collected through investigation that there
has been a history of continuation of
misbehaviour on the part of the accused
against the deceased. We find in the
material the instances where the deceased
was deflated and humiliated in public gaze
for no fault of him. We also find in the
material allegations which indicate that the
accused himself would create a situation
where the files would become untraceable
and yet he would put the entire blame on
the deceased and would flay him for no
fault committed by him. The accused is
said to have been in the habit of indulging
in such kind of conduct often for reasons
best known to him when he would target
the deceased and would make false
accusations against him despite all his
innocence. The accused was a much
higher officer and it was well naïve
impossible for the deceased to have
resisted or protested against him. He was a
poor constable and there was hardly any
other option for him than to keep on
swallowing the bitter punches of such
frequent deriding slights and put up with
this harassment helplessly. There is
nothing on record to indicate that the
deceased was an insane person or was
having any abnormal psyche. We have no
reason to attribute any such abnormalities
to him. A person may be placed higher in
the executive hierarchy and the other
person may be an humble employee but
everybody has his own dignity and has
also a right to preserve the same. The
dignity of a poor man is just as honorable
as the dignity of the powerfull and the
mighty. The unbridled arrogance on the
part of the accused-applicant and his
reckless misbehaviour with his subordinate
appears to have continued in such a
manner that the poor deceased felt driven
to eliminate his life.

11. Attention of the Court has been
drawn on the suicide note along with the
report of forensic expert which confirms
the fact that the said suicide note has been
written in his own handwriting. The
attention of the court has also been drawn
on the statements of the first informant
Arvind Kumar as well as Shubham who
are the sons of the deceased recorded u/s
161 Cr.P.C. In their statements there is a
detailed narrative of expressions which
have been communicated by the deceased
which shows that the deceased was being
badly
humiliated
by
the
applicant.
Attention has also been drawn to the
statement of other witnesses who are the
lawyers of the court practising in the court
of S.D.M., who have categorically stated
that they have seen the highhanded
humiliation which had been inflicted by
the applicant. From the statements it is
also apparent that the deceased had already
provided the file to the accused-applicant
but since the accused was not inclined to
grant bail and therefore asked the deceased
478 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
to provide for the file. When the deceased
stated the truth then the applicant started
badly humiliating the deceased which was
the cause of his depression and for taking
such extreme step. Allegations are to the
effect that the accused used to act in a very
calculative manner and is said to have
indulged
in
insalubrious
activity
of
displacing the file himself deliberately in
order to deprive certain accused of a given
case from obtaining bail. But in order to
keep his image clean he would make the
deceased an scapegoat putting the entire
blame on him for misplacing the file. We
also find from the record allegations
indicating that the misconduct of the
accused was deliberate and intensely
pungent showing no concern for his
subordinate's dignity which became too
much for the deceased to endure. On the
fateful day the sting of humiliation appear
to have proved to be the last straw on the
camel's back and the deceased buckled
under its pressure and put an end to his
life. From the material which has been
brought on record, it cannot be said that no
case is made out against the applicant.
However, argument on the point of charge
can be more elaborately addressed at the
time of framing of charge when it arrives.

12. The submissions made by the
applicant's
learned
counsel
call
for
adjudication on pure questions of fact
which may be adequately adjudicated
upon only by the trial court and while
doing so even the submissions made on
points
of
law
can
also
be
more
appropriately gone into by the trial court in
this case. This Court does not deem it
proper, and therefore cannot be persuaded
to have a pre-trial before the actual trial
begins. A threadbare discussion of various
facts and circumstances, as they emerge
from the allegations made against the
accused, is being purposely avoided by the
Court for the reason, lest the same might
cause any prejudice to either side during trial.
But it shall suffice to observe that the perusal
of the F.I.R. and the material collected by the
Investigating Officer on the basis of which
the charge sheet has been submitted makes
out a prima facie case against the accused at
this stage and there appear to be sufficient
ground for proceeding against the accused. I
do not find any justification to quash the
charge sheet or the proceedings against the
applicant arising out of them as the case does
not fall in any of the categories recognized by
the Apex Court which may justify their
quashing.

13. The prayer for quashing the same
is refused as I do not see any abuse of the
court's process either.

14. The application therefore cannot
be allowed and stands dismissed.
----------
(2020)1ILR 478

ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL SIDE
DATED: ALLAHABAD 25.11.2019

BEFORE
THE HON'BLE DINESH KUMAR SINGH-I, J.

Application U/S 482 Cr. P.C. No. 37082 of 2019

Dileep & Ors. ...Applicants
Versus
State of U.P. & Ors. ...Opposite Parties

Counsel for the Applicants:
Sri Rakesh Kumar Shukla

Counsel for the Opposite Parties:
A.G.A., Sri Rajendra Prasad

A. Application u/s 482 Cr.P.C. - Quashing
of entire proceedings on the basis of