Full Judgment
T.S. Doabia, J.
1. This appeal has been preferred by the State of Madhya Pradesh. It is directed against the judgment of acquittal recorded by the Additional Session Judge Vidisha. The respondent was proceeded against for an offence said to have been committed under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. His wife Shreebai has said to be have committed suicide and respondent said to have abetted in this crime.
2. It is not in dispute that Shreebai died of drowning. The only question which is required to be gone into in this case is whether the respondent took any positive step with a view to induce the deceased to commit suicide. The evidence which has been brought on record be now noticed:
3. The prosecution story is that the respondent always used to demanding Rs. 20,000/- by way of dowry. The marriage took place about ten to eleven years before the date of occurrence. The further prosecution story is that the respondent would misbehave with his wife. It is also stated that he had illicit relation with the wife of his younger brother. There was some exchange of hot words four to five days prior to the date of which Shreebai committed suicide by jumping into a well. Premabai P.W. 2, is the mother of deceased. She has stated that the respondent was having illicit relations with the wife of his younger brother and would pick up quarrel with her. Sitaram P.W. 3, is witness to the fact that Shreebai was found in the well and he had reported the matter to the police. P.W. 4, has stated that he has his house adjacent to the house of respondent and he could hear exchange of hot words between the respondent and Shreebai. He was unable to indicate any reason as to why Shreebai jumped into the well. P.W. 6 Sukhlal has again not been able to point out as to why Shreebai jumped into the well.
4. From the statement of the witnesses preferred to above, all that can be said is that the relation between the respondent and his wife were not very happy, but this would not be enough to convict him under Section 306, of the Indian Penal Code. The requirement that there should be some positive step taken by the accused and he induced the deceased to commit suicide. The position of law in this regard be noticed:
'In Panchram and Samailal v. State of M.P., 1971 JLTSN 80, the prosecution story was that the accused had developed a love affair with another lady and he started neglecting his wife. With this neglect being shown by the husbane, the wife drenched herself with kerosene oil and burnt herself. This Court came to the conclusion that offence under Section 306 could not be said to be made. The requirement to show that positive steps were taken with a view to induce the person concerned to commit suicide was held to be imperative.'
5. Some other decisions dealing with this aspect of the matter be merely noticed. These are:
(i) Tej Singh v. State of M.P., 1985 C Cri LJ 202;
(ii) Basant Kumar v. State of M.P., 1991 Jab LJ 175 : (1990 Cri LJ NOC 45);
(iii) Deepak v. State of M.P., 1994 Cri LJ 767 (Madh Pra);
(iv) Dinesh Chandra v. State of M.P. (1988) 2 MPWN 84;
(v) Devi Singh Rattan Singh v. State of M.P., 1995 MPLJ 757.
6. It would be apt to notice that what Supreme Court of India recently said in the case reported as Mahendra Singh v. State of M.P., 1995 AIR SCW 4570:
'In this case, the charge under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code was based on a dying declaration of the deceased. This stands reproduced in the judgment of the Supreme Court and the same be noticed:
'My mother-in-law and husband and sister-in-law (husband's elder brother's wife) harassed me. They bast 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 Supreme Court was of the view that the ingredients of abetment are not attracted and a case under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code cannot be said to be made out.
Thus, the evidence which has been brought on record does hot suggest that the respondent took any positive step or made any suggestion to the deceased to commit suicide.
In this view of the matter, this appeal is found to be without merit and is dismissed.