Case QUASHED Following Rape Accused’s Suicide, Allegations Not Deemed Instigating

The Madhya Pradesh High Court in the case Shubham @ Tejas Gupta v. State of MP & Ors observed and has quashed an abetment to suicide case against a 24-year-old Shubham alias Tejas Gupt. The court in the case observed that the allegations levelled in the FIR against the rape accused cannot be considered as instigation for his act of suicide.
The bench headed by Justice Deepak Kumar Agarwal in the case observed and has stated that even if the allegations as contained in the FIR and statements of the witnesses are taken as it is, thus, even it cannot be stated that the petitioner in the case has instigated the deceased to commit suicide. Therefore, there may be an act of the petitioner of getting the FIR registered against the deceased, but the same does not mean that petitioner has instigated the deceased to commit suicide.
The court in the case observed and was hearing the plea wherein quashing of the abetment to suicide case filed against the several accused persons after the death of the rape accused.
Therefore, it being the case of prosecution that after a case was lodged against the deceased Rupesh Gupta under Section 376(2) (n), section 384 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and section 3 and section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, POSCO Act. Thus, he committed suicide.
It has also been stated by the court that as per section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 makes abetment of commission of suicide punishable, therefore, for making a person liable for an offence punishable under the provisions, it being the duty of the prosecution to establish that such person has abetted the commission of suicide and for the purpose of determining the act of the accused.
Adding to it, the court stated that it is necessary to prove that the said accused has instigated the person to commit suicide or must have engaged with one or more other persons in any conspiracy for seeing that the deceased commits suicide or he must intentionally act by any act or the illegal omission, of the commission of suicide by the deceased.
It has also noted by the said court that a person can be said to have instigated another person, when he actively suggests or stimulates him by means of language, direct or indirect.
Therefore, instigate means to goad or urge forward or to provoke, incite, urge or encourage to do an act. The court while considering the totality of fact and circumstances of the case is of the considered opinion that prima facie there is no material to show that petitioner in any manner have abetted the deceased to commit suicide.