Gujarat High Court
State Of Gujarat vs Nathubhai Rasulbhai Kureshi on 4 March, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.A/935/2008 JUDGMENT DATED: 04/03/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 935 of 2008
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE S.V. PINTO Sd/-
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
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STATE OF GUJARAT
Versus
NATHUBHAI RASULBHAI KURESHI & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR BHARGAV PANDYA, APP for the Appellant(s) No. 1
MR TEJAS P SATTA(3149) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE S.V. PINTO
Date : 04/03/2025
ORAL JUDGMENT
1. This appeal has been filed by the appellant – State
under Section 378(1)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
(hereinafter referred to as ‘the Code’) against the judgment and the
order dated 20.11.2007 in Sessions Case No.67 of 2007 passed by
the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Judge, Mehsana
(hereinafter referred to as ‘the learned Trial Court’), whereby, the
learned Trial Court has acquitted the respondents – accused from
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the offences punishable under Sections 498(A), 306 and 114 of the
Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as ‘the IPC‘). The
respondents are hereinafter referred to as ‘the accused’ as they
stood in the rank and file in the original case, for the sake of
convenience, clarity and brevity.
2. The relevant facts leading to filing of the present
appeal are as under:
2.1. Yasminaben, the daughter of the complainant
Dilawarkhan Ramjumiya Sama (Musalman) was married with
Idrishbhai Nathubhai Qureshi and the accused Nos.1 and 2 are the
father-in-law and the mother-in-law and the accused No.3 is the
younger brother-in-law of Yasminaben. The accused used to
physically and mentally harass Yasminaben and on 16.02.2007
around 8:00pm and 8:30pm, Husenbhai, the uncle of the
complainant, telephoned him and told him that Yasminaben was
burnt and she was taken to the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad for
treatment. He immediately went to the Civil Hospital,
Ahmedabad, and saw that his daughter Yasminaben was fully
burnt and she told him that she had a fight with the accused and
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they had refused to let her go to the engagement of her auntie
Kankuben at Memadpura and told her that she could go and burn
herself and she went and sprinkled kerosene on herself and set
herself ablaze. The incident had occurred at around 6:00pm and
she expired during treatment on 17.02.2007. The complaint was
registered by Dilawarkhan Ramjumiya Sama at Kadi Police Station
under Sections 306, 498(A) and 114 of the IPC, which was
registered at I-C.R.No.47 of 2007.
2.2. After registration of the FIR, the investigation was
carried out by the concerned Investigating Officer and after having
sufficient material against the accused, the chargesheet came to be
filed before the concerned jurisdictional Magistrate. As the case
was exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions therefore, after
completion of process under Section 209 of the Cr.P.C., the case
was committed to the Sessions Court and the same was registered
as Sessions Case No.67 of 2007.
2.3. The accused were duly served with the summons and
the accused appeared before the learned Trial Court and it was
verified whether the copies of all the police papers were provided
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to the accused as per the provisions of Section 207 of the Code. A
charge was framed by the learned Trial Court at Exh.2 and the
statements of the accused were recorded at Exhs.3 to 4
respectively, wherein, the accused denied all the contents of the
charge and the entire evidence of the prosecution was taken on
record. The prosecution has examined 7 witnesses and has
produced 16 documentary evidence in support of the case.
2.4 After the closing pursis was submitted by the learned
APP, the further statements of the accused under Section 313 of the
Code were recorded. After hearing the arguments of the learned
APP and learned advocate for the accused and after perusing the
documents on record, the learned Trial Court, by the impugned
judgment and order, has acquitted the accused for the offences
punishable under Sections 306, 498(A) and 114 of the IPC.
3. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned
judgment and order passed by the learned Trial Court, the
appellant – State has filed the present appeal mainly stating that
the learned Trial Court has committed grave error on record of the
case as the learned Trial Court has not properly appreciated the
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oral as well as documentary evidence in its true and proper
perspective. The learned Trial Court has erred in not considering
the ratio laid down by the judgment of the Apex Court which are
applicable to the facts of the present case and the impugned
judgment and order is perverse and suffering from legal and
factual error apparent on the record. The learned Trial Court has
erred in holding that the prosecution has failed to establish the
case beyond reasonable doubts. The learned Trial Court has,
without giving any specific reason, not discussed the evidence of
the witnesses in the impugned judgment and order of acquittal
and has discarded the evidence of the witnesses. The learned Trial
Court has erred in not considering the evidence of the complainant
and other witnesses which was fully supported the case of the
prosecution. The learned Trial Court has passed the impugned
judgment and order of acquittal is without giving any cogent and
convincing reasons, illegal, invalid and improper, and therefore,
the same requires to be quashed and set aside.
4. Heard learned APP Mr.Bhargav Pandya for the
appellant – State and learned advocate Mr.Tejas Satta for the
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respondents. Perused the impugned judgment and order of
acquittal and have re-appreciated the entire evidence of the
prosecution on record of the case.
5. Learned APP Mr.Bhargav Pandya for the appellant –
State has taken this Court through the entire evidence produced
by the prosecution and has vehemently argued that the learned
Trial Court has not appreciated the evidence properly and the
prosecution has produced cogent evidence to prove the case and
has successfully proved the case against the accused but the
learned Trial Court has not considered the same and has acquitted
the accused. The judgment and order of acquittal passed by the
learned Judge is contrary to law, evidence on record and principles
of justice. The judgment and order of acquittal passed by learned
Judge is based on inferences, not warranted by facts of the case
and also on presumptions, not permitted by law. Learned APP
has urged this Court to quash and set aside the impugned
judgment and order of acquittal and to find the accused guilty for
the said offence and impose maximum sentence on the accused.
6. Learned advocate Mr.Tejas Satta for the respondents –
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original accused has submitted that the learned Trial Court has
appreciated all the evidence in true perspective and has not
committed any error in acquitting the accused. Therefore, no
interference of this Court is required in the impugned judgment
and the order of acquittal passed by the learned Trial Court and
has urged this Court to reject the appeal.
7. At the outset, before discussing the facts of the present
case, it would be appropriate to refer to the observations of the
Apex Court in the case of Chandrappa & Ors. Vs. State of
Karnataka reported in 2007 (4) SCC 415, the Apex Court has
observed as under:
Recently, in Kallu Vs. State of M.P. (2006) 10 SCC 313 :
AIR 2006 SC 831, this Court stated; “While deciding an appeal against
acquittal, the power of the Appellate Court is no less than the power
exercised while hearing appeals against conviction. In both types of
appeals, the power exists to review the entire evidence. However, one
significant difference is that an order of acquittal will not be interfered
with, by an appellate court, where the judgment of the trial court is
based on evidence and the view taken is reasonable and plausible. It
will not reverse the decision of the trial court merely because a
different view is possible. The appellate court will also bear in mind
that there is a presumption of innocence in favour of the accused and
the accused is entitled to get the benefit of any doubt. Further if it
decides to interfere, it should assign reasons for differing with the
decision of the trial court”. (emphasis supplied)page 7 of 24
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…….. From the above decisions, in our considered view, the following
general principles regarding powers of appellate Court while dealing
with an appeal against an order of acquittal emerge;](1) An appellate Court has full power to review, reappreciate
and reconsider the evidence upon which the order of
acquittal is founded;
(2) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 puts no limitation,
restriction or condition on exercise of such power and an
appellate Court on the evidence before it may reach its
own conclusion, both on questions of fact and of law;
(3) Various expressions, such as, ‘substantial and compelling
reasons’, ‘good and sufficient grounds’, ‘very strong
circumstances’, ‘distorted conclusions’, ‘glaring mistakes’,
etc. are not intended to curtail extensive powers of an
appellate Court in an appeal against acquittal. Such
phraseologies are more in the nature of ‘flourishes of
language’ to emphasize the reluctance of an appellate
Court to interfere with acquittal than to curtail the power
of the Court to review the evidence and to come to its
own conclusion.
(4) An appellate Court, however, must bear in mind that in
case of acquittal, there is double presumption in favour of
the accused. Firstly, the presumption of innocence
available to him under the fundamental principle of
criminal jurisprudence that every person shall be
presumed to be innocent unless he is proved guilty by a
competent court of law. Secondly, the accused having
secured his acquittal, the presumption of his innocence is
further reinforced, reaffirmed and strengthened by the
trial court.
(5) If two reasonable conclusions are possible on the basis of
the evidence on record, the appellate court should not
disturb the finding of acquittal recorded by the trial court.
8. It is a settled principle of law that in an appeal against
acquittal, the Appellate Court is circumscribed by limitation that
no interference has to be made in the order of acquittal unless after
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appreciation of the evidence produced before the learned Trial
Court, it appears that there are some manifest illegality or
perversity which could not have been possibly arrived at by the
Court. It is also a settled principle that there is no embargo on the
Appellate Court to review the evidence but, generally the order of
acquittal shall not be interfered with as the presumption of
innocence of the accused is further strengthened by the order of
acquittal. The golden thread which runs through the web of
administration of justice in criminal cases is that if two views are
possible on the evidence adduced in the case of the prosecution i.e.
(i) guilt of the accused and (ii) his innocence, the view, which is in
favour of the accused, should be adopted, and if the trial Court has
taken the view in favour of the accused, the Appellate Court
should not disturb the findings of the acquittal. The Appellate
Court can interfere with the judgment and order of acquittal only
when there are compelling and substantial reasons and the order is
clearly unreasonable and where the Appellate Court comes to
conclusion that based on the evidence, the conviction is a must.
9. The accused has been charged with the offence under
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Section 306 of the IPC and at this juncture it would be fit to
reproduce the observations of the Apex Court in the case of
Prakash and others versus State of Maharashtra in the order
passed in Criminal Appeal No.5543 of 2024 (Arising out of SLP
(Cri.) No. 1073 of 2023 on 20 December 2024 in paras 12 to 22
which are as under:
“12. The relevant provisions of the IPC that fall for consideration are
as under:
“306. Abetment of suicide.- If any person commits suicide,
whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be
liable to fine.
107. Abetment of a thing–A person abets the doing of a
thing, who–
First.– Instigates any person to do that thing; or
Secondly.– Engages with one or more other person or
persons in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing, if
an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that
conspiracy, and in order to the doing of that thing; orThirdly.– Intentionally aids, by any act or illegal
omission, the doing of that thing.
Explanation-1: A person who, by willful misrepresentation, or
by wilful concealment of a material fact which he is
bound to disclose, voluntarily causes or procures, or
attempts to cause or procure, a thing to be done, is said
to instigate the doing of that thing.
Explanation 2: Whoever, either prior to or at the time of the
commission of an act, does anything in order to facilitatepage 10 of 24
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the commission of that act, and thereby facilitates the
commission thereof, is said to aid the doing of that act.”
13. Section 306 of the IPC has two basic ingredients-first, an act of
suicide by one person and second, the abetment to the said act
by another person(s). In order to sustain a charge under Section
306 of the IPC, it must necessarily be proved that the accused
person has contributed to the suicide by the deceased by some
direct or indirect act. To prove such contribution or
involvement, one of the three conditions outlined in Section 107
of the IPC has to be satisfied.
14. Section 306 read with Section 107 of IPC, has been interpreted,
time and again, and its principles are well- established. To
attract the offence of abetment to suicide, it is important to
establish proof of direct or indirect acts of instigation or
incitement of suicide by the accused, which must be in close
proximity to the commission of suicide by the deceased. Such
instigation or incitement should reveal a clear mens rea to abet
the commission of suicide and should put the victim in such a
position that he/she would have no other option but to commit
suicide.
15. The law on abetment has been crystallised by a plethora of
decisions of this Court. Abetment involves a mental process of
instigating or intentionally aiding another person to do a 10
particular thing. To bring a charge under Section 306 of the IPC,
the act of abetment would require the positive act of instigating
or intentionally aiding another person to commit suicide.
Without such mens rea on the part of the accused person being
apparent from the face of the record, a charge under the
aforesaid Section cannot be sustained. Abetment also requires
an active act, direct or indirect, on the part of the accused
person which left the deceased with no other option but to
commit suicide.
16. This Court in the case of S.S. Chheena v. Vijay Kumar
Mahajan and Another12, had an occasion to consider the scope
of Section 306 of the IPC and the ingredients which are essential
for abetment, as set out in Section 107 of the IPC. It observed as
follows:
16. The word “suicide” in itself is nowhere defined in the
Penal Code, however its meaning and import is well
known and requires no explanation. “Sui” means “self”
and “cide” means “killing”, thus implying an act of self-
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killing. In short, a person committing suicide must
commit it by himself, irrespective of the means employed
by him in achieving his object of killing himself.
………..
18. In our country, while suicide in itself is not an offence,
considering that the successful offender is beyond the
reach of law, attempt to suicide is an offence under
Section 309 IPC.
……….
21. The learned counsel for the appellant has placed reliance
on a judgment of this Court in Mahendra Singh V. State
of M.P. [1995 Supp (3) SCC 731 : 1995 SCC (Cri) 1157] In
Mahendra Singh [1995 Supp (3) SCC 731 : 1995 SCC
(Cri) 1157] the allegations levelled were as under: (SCC p.
731, para 1)
“1. … My mother-in-law and husband and sister-in-law
(husband’s elder brother’s wife) harassed me. They
beat me and abused me. My husband Mahendra
wants to marry a second time. He has illicit
connections with my sister-in-law. Because of
these reasons and being harassed I want to die by
burning.” The Court on the aforementioned
allegations came to a definite conclusion that by
no stretch the ingredients of abetment are attracted
on the statement of the deceased. According to the
appellant, the conviction of the appellant under
Section 306 IPC merely on the basis of the
aforementioned allegation of harassment of the
deceased is unsustainable in law.
… ………..
23. In State of W.B. v. Orilal Jaiswal [(1994) 1 SCC 73 : 1994
SCC (Cri) 107] this Court has cautioned that: (SCC p.
90, para 17)
“17. … 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 the life
by committing suicide. If it [appears] to the court
that a victim committing suicide was
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hypersensitive to ordinary petulance, discord and
12 differences in domestic life quite common 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.”
24. This Court in Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (Govt. of
NCT of Delhi) [(2009) 16 SCC 605 : (2010) 3 SCC (Cri) 367]
had an occasion to deal with this aspect of abetment. The
Court dealt with the dictionary meaning of the words
“instigation” and “goading”. The Court opined that there
should be intention to provoke, incite or encourage the
doing of an act by the latter. Each person’s suicidability
pattern is different from the other. Each person has his
own idea of self-esteem and self-respect. Therefore, it is
impossible to lay down any straitjacket formula in
dealing with such cases. Each case has to be decided on
the basis of its own facts and circumstances.
25. Abetment involves a mental process of instigating a
person or intentionally aiding a person in doing of a
thing. Without a positive act on the part of the accused to
instigate or aid in committing suicide, conviction cannot
be sustained. The intention of the legislature and the ratio
of the cases decided by this Court is clear that in order to
convict a person under Section 306IPC there has to be a
clear mens rea to commit the offence. It also requires an
active act or direct act which led the deceased to commit
suicide seeing no option and that act must have been
intended to push the deceased into such a position that
he committed suicide.”
17. This Court held that abetment involves the mental process of
instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in doing of
a thing. Therefore, without a positive act on the part of the
accused to instigate or aid a person in committing suicide,
conviction cannot be sustained. This Court further observed
that the intention of the legislature and the ratio of the cases
decided by this Court is clear that in order to convict a person
under Section 306 of IPC, there has to be a clear mens rea to
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commit the offence. Abetment also requires an active act or
direct act which led the deceased to commit suicide seeing no
other option and that act must have been intended to push the
deceased into such a position that he committed suicide.
However, this Court has cautioned that since each person reacts
differently to the same provocation depending on a variety of
factors, it is impossible to lay down a straightjacket formula to
deal with such cases. Therefore, every such case has to be
decided on the basis of its own facts and circumstances.
18. More recently, in the case of Jayedeepsinh Pravinsinh Chavda
and Others v. State of Gujarat, this Court has relied on S.S.
Chheena (supra) to hold that the element of mens rea cannot
simply be presumed or inferred, instead it must be evident and
explicitly discernible. Without this, the foundational
requirement for establishing abetment under the law, that is
deliberate and conspicuous intention to provoke or contribute
to the act of suicide, would remain unfulfilled. This Court
observed as follows:
“18. For a conviction under Section 306 of the IPC, it is a well-
established legal principle that the presence of clear mens
rea–the intention to abet the act–is essential. Mere
harassment, by itself, is not sufficient to find an accused
guilty of abetting suicide. The prosecution must
demonstrate an active or direct action by the accused that
led the deceased to take his/her own life. The element of
mens rea cannot simply be presumed or inferred; it must
be evident and explicitly discernible. Without this, the
foundational requirement for establishing abetment
under the law is not satisfied, underscoring the necessity
of a deliberate and conspicuous intent to provoke or
contribute to the act of suicide.”
19. It is, therefore, evident that the positive act of instigation is a
crucial element of abetment. While dealing with an issue of a
similar nature, this Court in the case of Ramesh Kumar v. State
of Chhattisgarh laid down the parameters of what would be
constituted to be an act of instigation. This Court observed as
follows:-
“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
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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.”
20. It could thus be seen that this Court observed that instigation is
to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or encourage to do “an
act”. It has been held that in order 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,
however, a reasonable certainty to incite the consequence must
be capable of being spelt out. Applying the law to the facts of
the case, this Court went on to hold that a word uttered in the
fit of anger or 16 emotion without intending the consequences
to actually follow cannot be said to be instigation.
21. Relying on the decision in the case of Ramesh Kumar (supra),
this Court in the case of Ude Singh and Others v. State of
Haryana observed as follows:
“16. In cases of alleged abetment of suicide, there must be a
proof of direct or indirect act(s) of incitement 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 bypage 15 of 24
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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
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.
16.2. We may also observe that human mind could be affected
and could react in myriad ways; and impact of one’s
action on the mind of another carries several
imponderables. Similar actions are dealt with differently
by different persons; and so far a particular person’s
reaction to any other human’s action is concerned, there ispage 16 of 24
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no specific theorem or yardstick to estimate or assess the
same. Even in regard to the factors related with the
question of harassment of a girl, many factors are to be
considered like age, personality, upbringing, rural or
urban set-ups, education, etc. Even the response to the ill
action of eve teasing and its impact on a young girl could
also vary for a variety of factors, including those of
background, self-confidence and upbringing. 18 Hence,
each case is required to be dealt with on its own facts and
circumstances.”
22. It could thus be seen that this Court observed that in
cases of alleged abetment of suicide, there must be a
proof of direct or indirect act(s) of incitement to the
commission of suicide. It has been held that since the
cause of suicide particularly in the context of the offence
of abetment of suicide involves multifaceted and complex
attributes of human behaviour, the court would be
looking for cogent and convincing proof of the act(s) of
incitement to the commission of suicide. This Court
further observed that a mere allegation of harassment of
the deceased by another person would not suffice unless
there is such action on the part of the accused which
compels the person to commit suicide. This Court also
emphasised that such an offending action ought to be
proximate to the time of occurrence. It was further
clarified that 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. It was further
held that if the acts and deeds are only of such nature
where the accused intended nothing more than
harassment or a snap-show of 19 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. This Court held that owing to the fact that the
human mind could be affected and could react in myriad
ways and that similar actions are dealt with differently by
different persons, each case is required to be dealt with its
own facts and circumstances.”
10. In light of the above, the evidence produced by the
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prosecution on record is appreciated and the prosecution has
examined PW-1 Dilawarkhan Ramjumiya Sama at Exh.25 and the
witness is the complainant, who has fully supported the details of
the complaint, which is produced at Exh.35. During the cross-
examination by the learned advocate for the accused, the witness
has stated that during matrimonial life of his daughter, he had
gone on some occasions to his daughter’s house and his daughter
and son-in-law also used to come to his house. That the accused
No.1 has 8 to 10 vighas of land and the accused No.3 was studying
in Class-12 at the time of the incident. That when he went to the
Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, his son-in-law and all the accused and
other relatives were present and his daughter was under
treatment. That when he asked his daughter, Baldevbhai,
Rinalbhai and the accused No.1 was also present, and at that time,
the police in civil dress had come and they all were asked to go
outside. That after 10 to 15 minutes, when the person came out, he
asked the person what his daughter has stated and he was told
that she has stated that she was burnt with the stove. That he does
not know what conversation had taken place between the police
and his daughter.
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10.1 The prosecution has examined PW-2 Hamidaben
Dilawarkhan Sama at Exh.26 and the witness is the mother of
deceased Yasminaben, who has supported the case of the
prosecution. During the cross-examination, the witness has
admitted that her daughter did not have any problems with her
son-in-law.
10.2 The prosecution has examined PW-3 Dr.Maheshkumar
Parsottamdas Kapadiya at Exh.26(A) and the witness is the
Medical Officer, who has conducted the post-mortem on the dead
body of Yasminaben on 17.02.2007. The witness has produced the
post-mortem note at Exh.17 and as per Column No.17, the
deceased have sustained 2º to 3º degree burns on the full body and
the cause of death was shock due to burns. During the cross-
examination by the learned advocate for the accused, the witness
has stated that if a person is wearing nylon clothes and sustains
burn injuries, he would sustain injuries as per the injuries of the
deceased and nylon clothes would burn faster than cotton clothes.
The burn injuries on the soles of the foot were lesser compared to
the other parts of the body.
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10.3 The prosecution has examined PW-4 Baldevbhai
Ishwarbhai Prajapati at Exh.29 and the witness is the friend of the
complainant Dilawarkhan, who has stated that on 16.02.2007, he
had gone along with the complainant Dilawarkhan and their
friend Rinal in the city and when he reached at around 8:00pm his
wife informed him that there was a phone call from Memadpura
that Yasminaben was burnt and was taken to the Civil Hospital,
Ahmedabad. That he had gone along with Dilawarkhan and Rinal
in ward G-2, Yasminaben was under treatment but she did not say
anything to him. That she told her father Dilawarkhan that she
was ill-treated in the house and the doctor had recorded the dying
declaration of Yasminaben and asked them to leave the room.
After the dying declaration was recorded, Yasminaben slept and
they went home. During the cross-examination by the learned
advocate for the accused, the witness has stated that while the
dressing was going on, he had asked Yasminaben, what had
happened and after 30 to 45 minutes the dying declaration was
recorded. That after the dying declaration was recorded,
Yasminaben had gone off to sleep.
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10.4. The prosecution has examined PW-5 Rinal
Vimalkumar Shah at Exh.30 and the witness is the friend of the
complainant, who has stated that he along with Baldevbhai and
Dilawarkhan had gone for ‘darshan’ at around 9:00pm,
Baldevbhai’s wife informed them that Yasmina was under
treatment at the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad and they went and
saw that she was burnt. That she told her father that she was being
ill treated and that she had burnt herself and thereafter, they left
the room. During the cross-examination, the witness has stated
that he did not have any conversation with the deceased.
10.5 PW-6 Laxmanbhai Keshavlal Paghadi examined at
Exh.31 is the Executive Magistrate, who has recorded the dying
declaration of the deceased. The witness has stated that on
16.02.2007 at 22:00 hours he received a ‘yadi’ from the Shahibaug
Police Station and he went to the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad and
ensured that Yasminaben was conscious. That he went into the
room and asked all the relatives to leave the room and recorded
her dying declaration in her own words. During the cross-
examination, the witness has stated that the doctor had endorsed
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that the patient was conscious and she was asked 15 questions in
the dying declaration which were answered by Yasminaben
without any coercion from any persons. That after he had recorded
the dying declaration, he had read th edying declaration over to
Yasminaben.
10.6. PW-7 Mohanbhai Gamanbhai Solanki examined at
Exh.38 is the Investigating Officer, who has narrated the procedure
that was undertaken by him during investigation.
10.7. The dying declaration of Yasminaben is produced at
Exh.15/A, wherein, she has stated that the incident has occurred at
around 6:00pm at her house and she had worn a Punjabi polyester
dress. That the stove caught fire due to the kerosene and she was
burnt and she has not tried to commit suicide and nobody has
abetted her suicide. That she did not have any fight with any
person and nobody had a fight with her and she was educated
upto Class-4.
11. On minute appreciation of the entire evidence of the
prosecution, it is on record that in the dying declaration, the
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deceased has stated that she sustained accidental burn injuries due
to the stove and as she had worn a polyester punjabi dress and the
dress caught fire, the incident had occurred. That there is no
evidence that the deceased was ever ill-treated by the accused, and
admittedly, the husband of the deceased is not an accused in the
matter. The accused Nos. 1 and 2 are the father-in-law and mother-
in-law of deceased Yasminaben and the accused No.3 is brother-
in-law, who was studying in Class-12 at the time of incident. The
dying declaration being the most important piece of evidence
states that the incident was an accident and except for the say of
the complainant and his wife, there is no iota of evidence that the
accused had ever mentally and physically harassed deceased
Yasminaben and contributed to the suicide of Yasminaben by any
direct or indirect act.
12. In view of the above, the learned trial Court has
appreciated the entire evidence in proper perspective and there
does not appear to be any infirmity and illegality in the impugned
judgment and order of acquittal. The learned Trial Court has
appreciated all the evidence and this Court is of the considered
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opinion that the learned Trial Court was completely justified in
acquitting the accused of the charges leveled against them. The
findings recorded by the learned Trial Court are absolutely just
and proper and no illegality or infirmity has been committed by
the learned trial Court and this Court is in complete agreement
with the findings, ultimate conclusion and the resultant order of
acquittal recorded by the learned Trial Court. This Court finds no
reason to interfere with the impugned judgment and order and the
present appeal is devoid of merits and resultantly, the same is
dismissed.
13. The impugned judgment and the order dated
20.11.2007 in Sessions Case No.67 of 2007 passed by the learned
Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Judge, Mehsana is hereby
confirmed.
14. Bail bond stands cancelled. Record and proceedings be
sent back to the concerned Trial Court forthwith.
Sd/-
(S. V. PINTO,J)
F.S. KAZI
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