2025 INSC 990 Page 1 of 32

Criminal Appeal Nos. 2177-85 of 2024

Reportable

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

Criminal Appeal Nos.2177-2185 of 2024

Abhinav Mohan Delkar

Appellant

Versus

The State of Maharashtra & Ors.

Respondent(s)

J U D G E M E N T

K. VINOD CHANDRAN, J.

Whether every allegation or accusation levelled, a

reprimand or rebuke made, an insinuation or insult voiced or

even continuous acts of ill-treatment, harassment and

defamation; as alleged in this case, would lead to a charge of

abetment, if the person at the receiving end commits suicide, is

a vexed question the Courts are called upon to decide when a

charge is raised under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code,

1860

1

. Despite a wealth of precedents, the police still have not

come to terms with what constitutes an abetment as envisaged

1

the ‘IPC’

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Criminal Appeal Nos. 2177-85 of 2024

under Section 306 read with Section 107 of the IPC, now Sections

108 & 45 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

2

; in pari materia.

On a complaint raised, FIRs are registered, investigation carried

out and for reason of abject ignorance or on tainted instigation

or at times deliberate design, the alleged perpetrator is even

taken into custody without examining the existence of mens rea.

2. A seven-time Member of Parliament committed suicide on

22.02.2021, leaving behind a suicide note which named

persons, both in the administration and the police, who

according to him, conspired to defame, degrade and demean

him so as to end his political career and bring down his social

standing, thus driving him to suicide; which he proclaimed in

his last note, was his only option. The accused, the respondents

herein; named in the suicide note, filed separate applications to

quash the FIR, under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973

3

, which were allowed by the High Court by a

common order, against which the present appeals have been

filed.

2

the ‘BNS’

3

the ‘Cr.PC’

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3. Ms. Meenakshi Arora, learned Senior Counsel appearing

for the appellant took us through the minutes of the Committee

of Privileges in the Lok Sabha which had been looking into the

complaints raised, on breach of parliamentary privileges, by

the deceased. It is pointed out that the accused were named by

the deceased before the Committee and from the various

statements made, it is discernible that a concerted effort was

underway to diminish his public image and finish off his

political life. The statements of the witnesses; read over to us, it

is argued would clearly indicate that there was an attempt also

of extortion and an attempt of forceful takeover of a college

owned and managed by a Trust, formed by the deceased. A

conspiracy was hatched to tarnish his political image,

especially because he had won as an independent candidate,

without any political affiliation, to the Lok Sabha seven times.

4. Answering the query regarding absence of a live link with

the alleged harassment, it was pointed out that the deceased

was a man of public standing and the continuous humiliation he

suffered at the hands of the administration, which was pursued

unabated, despite his raising it before the Committee of

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Criminal Appeal Nos. 2177-85 of 2024

Privileges, eventually led to the drastic step. The Division Bench

of the High Court failed to look into the suicide note or the

material on record which surely warrants a trial and definitely

not a quashing as has been done under Section 482, Cr.PC.

Reliance was placed on Dammu Sreenu v. State of Andhra

Pradesh

4

, State of Haryana v. Surinder Kumar

5, and

Munshiram v. State of Rajasthan

6

. It was argued on the

strength of these precedents that there could be circumstances

and instances when the death by suicide is not preceded by a

proximate incident. The totality of the circumstances has to be

looked into and it is only in the rarest of rare cases, where there

is absolutely no evidence or the charges are not made out prima

facie that trial can be frustrated by resort to Section 482, Cr. PC.

5. Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Senior Counsel appearing for

the respondent State rests contend with the statement of law

coming out from the various precedents, a compilation of which

has been placed before us. It is pointed out that the allegations,

on the face of it, arise from oversensitivity. Shri Mahesh

4

(2009) 14 SCC 249

5

(2000) 10 SCC 337

6

(2018) 5 SCC 678

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Jethmalani, learned Senior Counsel appearing for one of the

accused, the Administrator, points out that there was no

complaint of extortion before the Parliamentary Committee and

it was for the first time raised in the suicide note. The witnesses

are all associates of the deceased who have merely paid lip

service to the suicide note. It is pointed out that even as per the

FIR, the deceased had written a letter to the Administrator, less

than a month before his death, seeking his help which clearly

indicates that the allegation of conspiracy levelled against the

Administrator is without any basis. The accusation of extortion

is one made for the first time in the suicide note and was never

complained of anywhere including the Privileges Committee.

The learned Counsel appearing for the other respondents too

urged that the judgment of the High Court is unimpeachable

and requires to be upheld.

6. The Division Bench which considered the matter has

listed out the various acts and omissions of the police and the

administration, which constituted the continued harassment

complained of, as has been reproduced in the statement of the

son, which led to the registration of the FIR. According to the

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Criminal Appeal Nos. 2177-85 of 2024

appellant; the son of the deceased who is also the first

informant, the officers of the administration, under the orders of

the Administrator were targeting the deceased, tarnishing his

image and reputation. Briefly put, the conspiracy was hatched

with the intention of taking over SSR College and further to

prevent the deceased from contesting the next elections. At the

instructions of the Administrator the other accused threatened

and insulted the deceased in public, giving short shrift to his

status as a Parliamentarian and attempted to extort money. By

reason of such continuous torture inflicted, the deceased who

belonged to a Scheduled Tribe, was forced to commit suicide.

It was stated in the First Information Statement

7

that, on being

made aware of the death of his father, the informant came to

Mumbai, took back the body of the deceased on the same day

to Silvasa and later, on 01.03.2021 when he enquired about the

investigation he was told of the suicide note, which was handed

over along with the minutes of the Lok Sabha Committee of

Privileges, based on which the FIS was recorded on 09.03.2021.

7

for short ‘FIS’

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7. The deceased raised his voice against the Administrator

and the maladministration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in the

Parliament and also in the media, which received a lot of

publicity. This enraged the Administrator at whose instance the

local administration and police deliberately harassed the

deceased and intentionally insulted him in public. The

instances of such public humiliation were stated to be

numerous. The M.P. was not invited or allowed to speak at the

function celebrating the Liberation Day of Dadra and Nagar

Haveli, which fell on 02.08.2020, against which he had lodged a

complaint before the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and its

Committee of Privileges. Another instance of violation of

protocol occurred when the M.P. was not invited to a

programme attended by the Union Minister of State (Home), in

his constituency and spreading a canard of the M.P. having

deliberately kept away from the function. The authorised

representative of the deceased was not given a hearing by the

Deputy Collector who was considering a civil suit, against

which representative an illegal complaint was filed. And lastly a

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Criminal Appeal Nos. 2177-85 of 2024

reinvestigation attempted of a criminal case by an Inspector at

the behest of the Superintendent of Police.

8. The only private individual arrayed as an accused in the

FIR was accused of circulating defamatory video clips on the

social media platforms. One of the accused, a Talati (Revenue

Official) also lodged a false and baseless complaint against the

deceased in the office of the Administrator. The administrative

officers failed to follow the established etiquette due to an M.P.,

in official and public functions and disrespected the deceased,

to bring disrepute. These actions were alleged to be intended

at preventing the participation of the M.P. in official functions

and on public platforms, declining him a fair hearing and

lowering his public image. A further statement also is seen

recorded detailing the threats levelled on the deceased to

further the process of take-over of SSR College, run by a Trust

formed by the deceased, demand of Rs.25 crores and the arrest

of a close associate of the deceased.

9. We would first look at the precedents placed before us,

which, we have to pertinently observe, turns on the facts of each

case. The decisions relied on by the de facto complainant are

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Criminal Appeal Nos. 2177-85 of 2024

specifically on the requirement of a proximate incident to

suicide, being not imperative. In Surinder Kumar

5 the

deceased was accused of stealing 10 grams of gold and

committed the extreme act after 20 days. An application under

Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. was allowed by the High Court, which

order was set aside by this Court, pointing out that the guilt or

otherwise of the accused would have to be decided on the basis

of the evidence; without any discussion on the question of delay,

which again was only of 20 days. There cannot be any dictum

ferreted out from the said decision but for the broad principle

that ordinarily a case will have to proceed for trial and be

decided on the evidence led and the closure at the initial stage

can only be on the principles laid down regarding invocation of

the extra ordinary power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.

10. In Dammu Sreenu

4, the deceased, troubled by his wife

carrying on an illicit relationship, sent her for counselling, to her

parental home. The paramour, who was the appellant, enraged

with the act of the deceased went to his house and proclaimed

his intention to continue the relationship and later took the wife

away from her brother’s house. The wife returned to her

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parental house on 06.01.1996 and the husband committed

suicide on the night of 07.01.1996. It was found that there was

proximate instigation and intimidation which led to the suicide,

which acts of the accused 1 and 2 had a direct nexus to the death

of the deceased.

11. Munshiram

6 again was a marital dispute with the

husband at the receiving end, who met his end at his own hands.

The wife had initiated multiple legal actions against the

husband which were once compromised and then resurrected.

The husband committed suicide, leaving behind two suicide

notes specifically alleging illicit relationship on the wife, and an

attempt, along with her family, to take over the factory

belonging to the father of the deceased/husband. The High

Court invoked the power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. to

quash the proceedings which was reversed by this Court. It was

found on a reading of the FIR, as also the FSL report; which

categorically found similarity in the handwriting on the suicide

note, to the admitted handwriting of the deceased, that the case

was not one which could be quashed at the initial stage and

requires evidence to be led.

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12. Much reliance was placed on Ude Singh and Ors. v. State

of Haryana

8 which again was a case in which an 18-year-old

girl hanged herself for reason of the continued harassment and

humiliation meted out by her own relatives, who were at logger

heads with the family of the deceased. Admittedly there were

criminal cases pending between the families, who were related

to each other. The first accused who was in the status of her

uncle had been repeatedly referring to the young girl as his

wife which was actively supported by the brother and even the

sons of the first accused. The public humiliation meted out and

the canard spread by the accused resulted in her engagement

being broken off. There was a proximate incident on the

previous day of the suicide, when the accused together, publicly

taunted the deceased, which resulted in an altercation;

witnessed by PW2 and spoken of by the deceased to her

mother, PW11. It is on the unwavering testimony of the

witnesses regarding the continued harassment and the just

prior incident, which led to the suicide that the conviction

entered was upheld by this Court.

8

(2019) 17 SCC 301

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13. It is very pertinent that a reading of the above decisions

would only indicate that always a proximate incident or act

prior to the suicide was held to be a very relevant aspect in

finding the death to be a direct causation of the acts of the

person accused of abetting the suicide. We think it apt to look

at the decisions discussed in Ude Singh

7

. Ramesh Kumar v.

State of Chhattisgarh

9 which was a case in which the husband

pursuant to a quarrel asked the wife to go wherever she

pleased, after which she set herself ablaze. This Court opined

that the wife, on the husband freeing her, impulsively felt that

she could do nothing but kill herself. It was held so in paragraph

20:

“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 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

9

(2001) 9 SCC 618

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intending the consequences to actually follow cannot

be said to be instigation.”

[underlining in all the extracts, by us, for emphasis]

14. This Court also relied on State of West Bengal v. Orilal

Jaiswal

10, wherein it was held so:

“If it transpires to the court that a victim committing

suicide was hypersensitive to ordinary petulance,

discord and 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.”

15. Pawan Kumar v. State of Himachal Pradesh

11 was a case

of elopement which resulted in a criminal prosecution against

the boy, later acquitted on the girl’s testimony in his favour. The

boy continued to harass the girl, holding her responsible for the

criminal proceeding initiated and even threatened to kidnap

her; which proximate threat led to the girl setting herself ablaze.

A dying declaration in the form of a letter, pinned the

responsibility of her death on the accused. While upholding the

10

(1994) 1 SCC 73

11

(2017) 7 SCC 780

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conviction entered into by the High Court reversing the

acquittal by the Trial Court, this Court held so on the scope of

the words ‘abetment’ and ‘instigate’:

“43. Keeping in view the aforesaid legal position, we

are required to address whether there has been

abetment in committing suicide. Be it clearly stated that

mere allegation of harassment without any positive

action in proximity to the time of occurrence on the part

of the accused that led a person to commit suicide, a

conviction in terms of Section 306 IPC is not

sustainable. A casual remark that is likely to cause

harassment in ordinary course of things will not come

within the purview of instigation. A mere reprimand or

a word in a fit of anger will not earn the status of

abetment. There has to be positive action that creates

a situation for the victim to put an end to life.

44. In the instant case, the accused had by his acts and

by his continuous course of conduct created such a

situation as a consequence of which the deceased was

left with no other option except to commit suicide. The

active acts of the accused have led the deceased to put

an end to her life. That apart, we do not find any

material on record which compels the Court to

conclude that the victim committing suicide was

hypersensitive to ordinary petulance, discord and

difference in domestic life quite common to the society

to which the victim belonged. On the other hand, the

accused has played active role in tarnishing the self-

esteem and self-respect of the victim which drove the

victim girl to commit suicide. The cruelty meted out to

her has, in fact, induced her to extinguish her life

spark.”

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Here again the live link, to the just prior threat was emphasised

while also noticing the fact that a young girl living in a village

setting, also belonging to the poor strata of society, was

threatened and teased constantly, resulting in her resort to the

extreme step. The accused would have known that his acts

would lead to the drastic consequence.

16. Amalendu Pal vs. State of West Bengal

12 also held:

“Merely on the allegation of harassment without there

being any positive action proximate to the time of

occurrence on the part of the accused which led or

compelled the person to commit suicide, conviction in

terms of Section 306 IPC is not sustainable.”

17. S.S.Chheena v. Vijay Kumar Mahajan

13 emphasised the

requirement of a positive act on the part of the accused to

instigate or aid in committing suicide. Looking at Section 306,

it was held so :

“… in order to convict a person under Section 306 IPC

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.”

12

(2010) 1 SCC 707

13

(2010) 12 SCC 190

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18. Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (NCT of Delhi)

14 spoke

on the suicidal ideation and behaviour in human beings which

were complex and multifaceted (sic). It was held that:

“Different individuals in the same situation react and

behave differently because of the personal meaning

they add to each event, thus accounting for individual

vulnerability to suicide. Each individual's

suicidability pattern depends on his inner subjective

experience of mental pain, fear and loss of self-respect.

Each of these factors are crucial and exacerbating

contributor to an individual's vulnerability to end his

own life, which may either be an attempt for self-

protection or an escapism from intolerable self.”

19. Madan Mohan Singh v. State of Gujarat

15 was a case in

which the accused was alleged to have continuously harassed

and insulted the deceased and spoken as to how he was still

alive despite the insults levelled. There was also a suicide note

in which the deceased, a driver, accused his employer of having

driven him to suicide. Despite such an allegation in the suicide

note, this Court found that there was absolutely nothing in the

suicide note or the F.I.R. which could even distantly be viewed

as an offence, much less under Section 306 of the I.P.C.

14

(2009) 16 SCC 605

15

(2010) 8 SCC 628

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20. Again, the ingredients under Sections 107 and 306 of the

I.P.C. was interpreted by one of us in Prakash and Ors. v. State

of Maharashtra and Anr.

16 (B.R. Gavai J., as he then was) in the

following manner:

“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 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

2024 SCC OnLine SC 3835

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21. It was held that abetment involves the mental process of

instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in doing of

a thing and without a positive act on the part of the accused, in

aiding or instigating or abetting the deceased to commit

suicide, a conviction cannot be sustained.

22. What comes out essentially from the various decisions

herein before cited is that, even if there is allegation of constant

harassment, continued over a long period; to bring in the

ingredients of Section 306 read with Section 107, still there has

to be a proximate prior act to clearly find that the suicide was

the direct consequence of such continuous harassment, the last

proximate incident having finally driven the subject to the

extreme act of taking one’s life. Figuratively, ‘the straw that broke

the camel’s back’; that final event, in a series, that occasioned a

larger, sudden impact resulting in the unpredictable act of

suicide. What drove the victim to that extreme act, often

depends on individual predilections; but whether it is goaded,

definitively and demonstrably, by a particular act of another, is

the test to find mens rea. Merely because the victim was

continuously harassed and at one point, he or she succumbed

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to the extreme act of taking his life cannot by itself result in

finding a positive instigation constituting abetment. Mens rea

cannot be gleaned merely by what goes on in the mind of the

victim.

23. The victim may have felt that there was no alternative or

option, but to take his life, because of what another person did

or said; which cannot lead to a finding of mens rea and resultant

abetment on that other person. What constitutes mens rea is the

intention and purpose of the alleged perpetrator as discernible

from the conscious acts or words and the attendant

circumstances, which in all probability could lead to such an

end. The real intention of the accused and whether he intended

by his action to at least possibly drive the victim to suicide, is

the sure test. Did the thought of goading the victim to suicide

occur in the mind of the accused or whether it can be inferred

from the facts and circumstances arising in the case, as the true

test of mens rea would depend on the facts of each case. The

social status, the community setting, the relationship between

the parties and other myriad factors would distinguish one case

from another. However harsh or severe the harassment, unless

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there is a conscious deliberate intention, mens rea, to drive

another person to suicidal death, there cannot be a finding of

abetment under Section 306.

24. We have already seen that even a rebuke to “go, kill

yourself”; often a rustic expression against distasteful conduct,

cannot by itself be found to have the ingredients to charge an

offence of abetment to suicide. There is no uniformity in how

different individuals respond and react under pressure. Many

stand up, some fight back, a few runaway and certain people

crumble and at times take the extreme step of suicide. To put

the blame on the pressure imposed and the person responsible

for it, at all times, without something more to clearly discern an

intention, would not be the proper application of the penal

provisions under Section 306.

25. In this context, useful reference can be made to Sections

113A & 113B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 providing

statutory presumptions in aid of Sections 498A & 304B,

respectively, of the IPC. When a woman dies by suicide within

seven years of her marriage, if it is shown that she was subjected

to cruelty by her husband or his relative, there arises a

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presumption that the husband or such relative abetted the

suicide, in which event the penalty under Section 306 is

attracted. The presumption under Section 113A was statutorily

employed by the Parliament, realizing the menace and in an

attempt to prevent domestic violence unleashed on women in

the patriarchal society, by deterrence. This exercise would not

have been necessary if Section 107 did provide for finding

abetment without conscious instigation constituting mens rea.

This Court held in Mangat Ram v. State of Haryana

17 that the

provision only enabled the court to presume on the abetment,

having due regard to all other circumstances of the case and

drawing such presumption is purely within the discretion of the

Court.

26. We also notice Section 304B which penalises the death of

a woman, caused by any burns and bodily injuries or occurs

otherwise than under normal circumstances, within seven years

of her marriage; if it is shown that the victim was subjected to

cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her

husband soon before her death, in connection with any demand

17

(2014) 12 SCC 595

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for dowry, as ‘a dowry death’, punishable with imprisonment for

a term which shall not be less than seven years and which

extends to imprisonment for life. In law this is made possible by

the presumption brought about by Section 113B; which all the

same requires a proximate incident, as discernible from the

words employed, in both Sections 113B & 304B, of ‘ … and it is

shown that soon before her death such woman was subjected to…’

cruelty or harassment with a demand for dowry.

27. Kashmir Kaur v. State of Punjab

18 considered the import

of the words “soon before”. It was held that “soon before” is a

relative term depending on the circumstances of each case and

there can be no straitjacket formula prescribed. It normally

implies existence of proximate or live link between the demand

of dowry amounting to cruelty and the death. It cannot be so

remote that it is stale but all the same no narrow meaning can

be assigned to the words to defeat the purpose of the provision.

28. Disputes in marital spaces are not uncommon. Tragically

dowry demands, despite punitive legislation, is the major cause

for domestic violence, unnatural death and suicide within

18

(2012) 13 SCC 627

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marital spaces. Hence, a presumption was drawn on the dowry

death of a woman, within 7 years of marriage, by the legislature,

carefully incorporating the requirement of a proximate trigger.

It cannot be said that the said requirement is absent in bringing

home a conviction for abetment to suicide. If it is so held, then

it would follow that when a poor woman commits suicide within

7 years of her marriage, pursuant to a “soon before” incident, it

would be a dowry death. But if the death occurs after 7 years,

then there will be no reason to look for a proximate trigger. The

necessity to find a trigger, proximate to the suicide cannot at all

be wished away.

29. At the outset, on the facts coming out in the present case,

it is to be noticed that the deceased was no ordinary person,

though he had his roots in a marginalised community. There is

no allegation of any public humiliation on the basis of caste or a

casteist slur having been spoken. He rose up in the political

front presumably by his grit and determination, especially

having been elected to the Lok Sabha seven times, loosing only

once in three decades, that too as an independent candidate.

The first of these allegations, which allegedly led to the suicide

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refers to an incident on the 2

nd

of August 2020, the Liberation

Day of the Union Territory, including the constituency of the

deceased. The deceased was not given proper respect and

regard due to an M.P., was the allegation. This has to be looked

at, on the basis of the counter affidavit filed, which indicates

curbs imposed for reason of the Covid pandemic, raging at that

time, the country having opened up after the worldwide

lockdown. Restrictions were imposed on official functions and

public celebrations were toned down, to arrest the spread of the

pandemic. The further allegation is regarding the M.P. having

not been invited for a function in which the Minister of State for

Home, of the Union Government, participated, that took place in

December 2020. The deceased M.P. was a seasoned politician,

and we cannot infer such instances of disrespect alone having

goaded him into suicide, that too after a couple of months.

30. The Parliamentarian stood up to the insult and

approached the Committee of Privileges in the Lok Sabha, the

minutes of which have been produced and painstakingly read

over to us by the learned Senior Counsel. The deceased was a

person of standing, aware of his rights and privileges and

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conscious of the remedies possible. Insofar as the allegation of

circulation of news items and videos, as alleged against a

private individual, it was pointed out that the deceased had

issued a legal notice alleging defamation.

31. While highlighting the above referred two instances, the

M.P. had also spoken of other instances of harassment by certain

officers, not named, but their designations spoken of before the

Committee of Privileges. In fact, when speaking of the Deputy

Collector as seen from the written complaint and also the

statements made, he is said to have misbehaved not only with

the M.P. but also with other persons in the political arena.

Probably, an officer who oversteps his authority, but it is difficult

to discern any conspiracy by the entire administration at the

instigation of the Administrator.

32. The Parliamentarian also spoke of an investigation in a

crime having been reopened but does not speak on any

specifics about the crime proper or its nature. The policemen-

accused; an Inspector and a Superintendent of Police, have

clearly stated that they were not involved in such reinvestigation

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and had also in their counter affidavit pointed out that the crime

number referred by the M.P. was wrong.

33. It is also pertinent that before the Committee of Privileges,

there is no whisper about the Administrator or the extortion

attempted or even the take over of the trust as alleged. In any

event, the Committee of Privileges had seriously considered

the complaint raised by the M.P. and the Chairman of the

Committee, had on 12.02.2021 informed the M.P. of the

investigation initiated insofar as the conduct of the

administration, as recorded in the minutes. It was also recorded

that a letter has been sent for the safety of the M.P. The dated

minutes, in which the same was recorded, is produced at page

190 of the SLP. The M.P. then travelled to Mumbai, presumably

with his fears assuaged and the insults he complained of

mitigated, by the action proposed by the Committee of

Privileges. After 10 days on 22.02.2021, without any intervening

circumstance or incident, the Parliamentarian committed

suicide. Neither the incident of 02.08.2020 nor the failure of the

administration alleged in December 2020; both of not

respecting the hierarchical protocol for an M.P., can be seen as

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an instigation or causation of suicide or the proximate and prior

trigger.

34. One other allegation raised is of the arrest of an associate

who was authorised to represent the MP in a case before the

Deputy Collector. It has been clarified in the counter affidavit

that the preventive detention of the said person under the

Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985 was

confirmed by the Advisory Board chaired by a retired Chief

Justice of a High Court. The allegation of extortion has never

been raised, either in the complaint to the Hon’ble Speaker or

in the statements made before the Privileges Committee.

35. Emphasis was laid by the learned Senior Counsel

appearing for the appellant, on the suicide note which too was

meticulously read over to us, from the translated copy produced

as Annexure P/12. Before we look into the suicide note, we

cannot but observe that going by the FIS, the suicide note,

presumably was discovered by the police when the body was

detected. The appellant who had gone to Mumbai, on hearing

about his father’s death was not immediately informed of the

suicide note. On that day, when the body was taken back to

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Silvassa for the last rites, there was also no FIR registered on the

basis of the suicide note. Surely an FIR would have been

registered for unnatural death as provided under Section 174 of

the Cr.P.C. If a suicide note had been recovered, with the

discovery of the body or later, then necessarily it has to be

seized and a FIR registered and investigation commenced

under Section 157 which enables the police officer to

commence the investigation after sending a report to the

jurisdictional Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of such

offence. Under Section 157 the investigation has to be

commenced on information received under Section 154 or

‘otherwise’ of a cognizable offence.

36. It was later, even according to the FIS; on 01.03.2021, the

suicide note was handed over to the appellant, when enquiries

were made with the police. The appellant registers the FIR, still

later on 09.03.2021. There is nothing produced either by the

appellant or the State to show that the suicide note was

recovered along with the body; which definitely would have

been indicated in the Mahazar recorded at the inquest. There is

also no verification carried out of the handwriting in the suicide

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note, juxtaposed with the admitted handwriting of the

deceased. Above all, the suicide note makes pointed

allegations against named individuals, which was not done

earlier. It is for the first time that the Administrator was

mentioned, with an allegation of extortion and attempt to

forcefully take-over a Trust and the college it runs. The actions

of the officers of the administration, alleged to be a direct result

of the conspiracy hatched by the Administrator to coerce the

petitioner, was never raised any time earlier. We cannot place

any absolute reliance on the suicide note, to ferret out a case of

abetment, allegations in which were not disclosed in the written

complaint to the Hon’ble Speaker or the statements made

before the Committee of Privileges.

37. If the executive officers are disrespectful to a

Parliamentarian, the people’s representative is entitled to

demand and get his due status recognised by virtue of the

legislative office he holds and also the electoral support he

retains. As a seasoned politician would do, he raised the issue

before the Committee of Privileges, which initiated necessary

action, in which circumstance, we cannot find the suicide to be

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a direct result of the actions complained of. Tragically a life is

lost, leaving questions unanswered. Despite our anxious

reading and re-reading, the complaints made, the statements

recorded, the suicide note; over which there is a cloud, and the

subsequent conduct of the police regarding the delay in

registering a crime and the casual statements made in the FIR,

persuade us to negate the contention that the allegations

levelled were the direct causation of the death.

38. The learned Senior Counsel for the appellant also

referred to the various statements made by the son and others

associated with the M.P. It was argued that at least, the

statements should have persuaded the resort to a full-fledged

trial rather than a quashing of the FIR, which quashing, in the

given facts is presumptuous. We are not convinced, since we

cannot incorporate those statements made by others, a clear

hearsay, into the written complaint. The statements made by the

deceased himself, bereft of the various allegations in the

suicide note, do not sketch out a case for abetment of suicide.

As has been held in State of Haryana v. Bhajanlal

19, the

19

(1992) Supp (1) 335

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allegations in the FIS or the complaint do not constitute any

offence or make out a case against the accused.

39. We are of the opinion that the Division Bench of the High

Court had rightly quashed the proceedings, finding the charge

of abetment to commit suicide to be absent. Much emphasis was

laid on the charge of extortion, which has been first stated in the

suicide note and not disclosed in any of the complaints earlier

made to the Hon’ble Speaker or the Committee of Privileges.

40. True, a person unable to bear the pressure or withstand a

humiliation or unable to oppose, may succumb to the extreme

act of ending his own life, in desperation; but that would not

necessarily mean that the alleged perpetrator had an intention

to lead the victim to eventual death by his own or her own hands.

We find no such instigation on the part of the accused in this

case, or a definitive abetment to suicide, as alleged in the FIR.

There arises a cloud on the suicide note, when looking at the

admitted statements recorded in the proceedings of the

Committee of Privileges and also the manner in which the note

was introduced in the case. Before the Committee of Privileges,

no reference was made to the various allegations in the suicide

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note, against the named officers. We have found the suicide

note to be suspect and we are not convinced that there is any

modicum of material in the case to find abetment of suicide. The

High Court was not in error, when it quashed the FIR, when no

case is made out from the FIS.

41. The Criminal Appeals stand dismissed.

42. Pending applications, if any, shall stand disposed of.

……….……………………. CJI.

(B. R. GAVAI)

………….……………………. J.

(K. VINOD CHANDRAN )

New Delhi;

August 18, 2025.