Threatening can't be termed as abetment: Madhya Pradesh HC on suicide case
Jabalpur, Mar 18: A single bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court held that "threatening" cannot be termed as "abetment", and discharged a woman of abetment to suicide charge and quashed the proceedings against her in a trial court.
In an order issued on March 3, Justice Anjuli Palo observed that threatening may be the cause for committing suicide, but it is not covered under the term of abetment.
"If the deceased was blackmailed by the petitioner, he had the remedy to lodge a report against her," the court said.
The petitioner was having an extra-marital affair with a man and was accused of compelling him to marry her, which he refused, government counsel Papiya Ghosh said on Thursday.
The petitioner woman had allegedly blackmailed and threatened him that if he does not marry her, she would lodge a complaint against him and his family members and implicate them in false cases, the government counsel said.
The accused forcibly entered her lover's home on January 17, 2020 and after opposition from his family members, left the house, but again came there on January 26 and stayed till January 28, when the victim killed himself, Ghosh said.
An FIR was registered against the woman under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC at Bargi police station in Jabalpur district, the government counsel said.
The petition filed by the woman challenged the criminal proceedings against her on the grounds that there was no direct or indirect instigation by her and the deceased had other remedies to resolve his problem, Ghosh said.
The court allowed the petition on March 3, 2021 in view of the principle laid down by the Apex Court in cases related to such matters, the counsel said.
Justice Palo in the order said, "For the conviction of a person under section 306 of the IPC, there has to be a clear mens rea (guilty mind) to commit the offence," the court order said.
"It also requires an active act or direct act, which lead the deceased to commit suicide seeing no option and this act must have been intended to push the deceased into such a position that he committed suicide," the order stated.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
