Allowed

Gurpreet Singh v. State of Punjab

Punjab & Haryana HC18 Dec 2024CRM-M/31992/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Regular bail petition under Section 439 CrPC in a FIR No. 84/2023 Section 306 IPC case alleging the petitioner drove his wife to suicide. With over a year in custody as an undertrial, no other cases, and only one of fourteen prosecution witnesses examined, the court granted regular bail without commenting on merits.

What did the court decide?

Petitioner Gurpreet Singh S/o Satnam Singh released on regular bail subject to bail/surety bonds to the satisfaction of the trial Court/Chief Judicial Magistrate/Duty Magistrate.

Gurpreet Singh Vs State of Punjab — Bail and Remand | Punjab & Haryana HC (2024)

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CRM-M-31992-2024 -1-

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IN THE H I GH COURT OF PUNJAB AND H ARYANA AT CHANDIGARH 205 CR M -M-31992-2024 Dat e of Decision: 18.12.2024

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Gurpreet Singh .… Petitioner

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Versus

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State of P u njab .... Respondent

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CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE NIDHI GUPTA

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Present: - Mr. Prateek Pandit, Advocate for the petitioner.

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Ms. Aakanksha Gupta, AAG, Punjab.

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NIDHI GUPTA, J. (ORAL)

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There is a written request fo r an adjournment circulated by Ms. Deep i ka, Advocate for the petitio n er. However, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner raised an obj e ction to the same and submits that he h a s already furnished fresh V a kalatnama on behalf of the petitioner i n the Registry with ‘no objecti o n’ from previous counsel who has moved the aforesaid written request fo r an adjournment.

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Fresh Vakalatnama on behalf o f the petitioner already filed in the Regist r y, is taken on record and the c ase is taken up for hearing on merits.

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The petitioner has filed the present 2^nd petition under 439 Cr.P.C., f o r grant of regular bail in case FIR No. 84 dated 10.11.2023 (Annexure P-1) registered under Sectio n 306 IPC at Police Station Dhilwan, D istrict Kapurthala.

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Learned counsel for the petiti o ner, inter alia, submits that the aforesaid F IR (Annexure P-1) was registered on the basis of the statement

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RISHU KATARIA 2024.12.19 16:09 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this order/judgment.

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CRM-M-31992-2024 -2-

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of father of the deceased/wife of the petitioner inter-alia, with the allegations that the deceased was compelled to commit suicide due to atrocities c ner. ommitted upon her by the petiti o

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Learned counsel further sub m its that the said allegations of the compl a inant are utterly false and f a bricated. It is submitted that admittedly , the petitioner and the decease d had solemnized love marriage in the ye a r 2015. Two sons were born out of the said wedlock. The complaina n t was unhappy with the mar r iage of the petitioner and the deceased a n d was not on talking terms wit h them. It is only after the birth of sons th a t the relationship thawed, and s o me connection was established between t h e parties. It is submitted that t hese facts are also discernible from the F I R.

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Learned counsel submits that on 08.11.2023, the wife of the petitioner a ccidentally fell from the roof of the matrimonial house. The petitioner i mmediately took her to the ho s pital, where she succumbed to her injuries on 08.11.2023 itself. Therea f ter, inquest proceedings under Section 174 Cr.P.C. were conducted in t h e presence of the complainant; during wh i ch he had even made a statem e nt that he did not suspect any foul play in the death of his daughte r . However, merely 02 days thereafter, i.e. on 10.11.2023, the present F IR (Annexure P-1) came to be registered with utterly false and fabricated allegations against the petitioner.

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Learned counsel for the petit i oner argues that perusal of the facts ment i oned in FIR (Annexure P-1) its e lf reveal that no offence under section 30 6 IPC is made out against the p etitioner; in as much as there

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RISHU KATARIA 2024.12.19 16:09 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this order/judgment.

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CRM-M-31992-2024 -3-

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were no c o mpelling circumstance created by the petitioner from which it could be i n ferred that the petitioner is res p onsible in any manner for the suicide co m mitted by the deceased. It is submitted that to constitute an offence u n der section 306 IPC, it is ne c essary that there be an active instigation on part of the petitioner, which drove her to commit suicide. It is contended that in the present case, t h ere is nothing on part of the petitioner t hat can be remotely construed a s ‘instigation’, or ‘incitement’ that would make out an offence under sect i on 306 IPC.

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In the support of his content i ons, learned Counsel refers to

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the latest judgment of the Hon’ble A pex Court in Jayedeepsinh Pravinsinh Chavda and others vs. State of Gujarat, arising out of Special Leave Pe t ition (Criminal) No. 7957-2 0 24, decided on 10.12.2024 , wherein in para-No. 21, it has been held as under:-

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“21. Thus, to bring a ca s e under this provision, it is imperative that the accused i n tended by their act to instigate the deceased to commit suici d e. Thus, in cases of death of a wife, the Court must metic u lously examine the facts and circumstances of the case, a s well as assess the evidence presented. It is necessary to de termine whether the cruelty or harassment inflicted on the v ictim left them with no other option but to end their life. I n cases of alleged abetment o f suicide, there must be conc r ete proof of either direct or indirect acts of incitement t hat led to the suicide. Mere allegations of harassment ar e insufficient to establish guilt. For a conviction, there must b e evidence of a positive act by the accused, closely linked t o the time of the incident, that compelled or drove the victim to commit suicide.”

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It is further pointed out by le a rned counsel for the petitioner that charg e s in the matter were framed by the learned trial Court on 27.02.202 4 . However, thereafter, the co m plainant has been repeatedly seeking e x emption from his personal ap p earance on one pretext or the

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RISHU KATARIA 2024.12.19 16:09 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this order/judgment.

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CRM-M-31992-2024

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-4-

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other, ther e by, deliberately delaying the t r ial, and even his examinationin-chief h a s not been completed as yet. Meanwhile, the petitioner has been in c u stody for over one year. It is accordingly prayed that the petitioner b e released on regular bail.

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Per Contra, learned counsel for the State vehemently opposes the prayer for grant of regular b a il to the petitioner and submits that the delay in conclusion of evidence o f the complainant is due to the fact that r e ports of the Chemical Exami n er and FSL have not yet been received. I t is further submitted that part e xamination-in-chief of another prosecutio n witness, namely, Dr. Amanjot Kaur, has been recorded and her furthe r deposition has also been defer r ed as, the Chemical Examiner Report fro m FSL Kharar, has not been re c eived, as is evident from copy of zimni o r der dated 05.08.2024, placed o n record by learned counsel for the State.

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On instructions from ASI G u rmeet Singh, learned counsel for the St a te has informed that Viscera r e port of the deceased has been received w hich is negative. The final opinion qua the cause of death is yet to be obta i ned. However, it is admitted t h at in the Postmortem Report it has been m entioned that as per opinion pr o vided by the police, the ‘ death had occur r ed due to fall from height ro of .’ Further, on instructions, ld. counsel f o r the State has informed tha t out of total 14 prosecution witnesses, only 01 witness has been c o mpletely examined and part examinati o n-in-chief of 02 witnesses i.e. t he complainant and the doctor have been r ecorded.

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RISHU KATARIA 2024.12.19 16:09 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this order/judgment.

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CRM-M-31992-2024 -5-

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Learned counsel for the Stat e files custody certificate dated 17.12.202 4 which is taken on record, as p e r which the petitioner has been in custody as an undertrial for a period of 0 1 year and 26 days. Perusal of the custod y certificate shows that the pe t itioner is not involved in any other case.

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I have heard learned counsel f or the parties.

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Without commenting on meri t s of the case, however, keeping in view t he totality of the facts an d circumstances of the case, including: ( a) custody period of 01 year a nd 26 days undergone by the petitioner a s an undertrial; (b) perusal of custody certificate reveals that the petitio n er is not involved in any oth e r case; and (c) out of total 14 prosecutio n witnesses, only 01 witness ha s been examined by the learned trial Court , therefore, conclusion of trial w ill take considerable time, and no useful p urpose would be served by fur t her detention of the petitioner. Thus, the p resent petition is allowed.

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The petitioner-Gurpreet Sing h S/o Satnam Singh, is ordered to be rele a sed on regular bail on his fur n ishing bail/surety bonds to the satisfactio n of the trial Court/Chief Judic i al Magistrate/Duty Magistrate, concerned.

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However, it is made clear th a t nothing stated above shall be construed a s an expression of opinion on t h e merits of the case.

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18.12.2024 ( NIDHI GUPTA ) rishu JUDGE

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Whether speaking/reasoned Yes/No

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Whether Reportable Yes/No

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RISHU KATARIA 2024.12.19 16:09 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this order/judgment.

Gurpreet Singh v. State of Punjab

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Gurpreet Singh v. State of Punjab

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

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