ChaIn Ram and anr. Vs. the State of Rajasthan - Court Judgment

Excerpt:
penal code, 1860 - section 306--abetment of suicide--father-in-law and mother-in-law accused for abetting suicide of their daughter-in-law--allegation against fatherin-law that he told deceased that he would arrange second marriage of his son--father-in-law's appeal abating on account of his death--only allegation against mother-in-law that she used to quarrel with daughter-in-law--not sufficient to make out a case of abetment of suicide--conviction set aside.;appeal allowed - motor vehicles act, 1988 [c.a. no. 59/1988]sections 163-a & 166; [r.m. lodha, shiv kumar sharma & ashok parihar, jj] award passed by tribunal under section 163-a nature of held, the award passed by tribunal under section 163-a of act under structured formula is a final award and once that award has been passed, no further award under chapter xii of m.v. act could be passed by the tribunal. the provisions contained in sections 163-a and 166 of act provide for two different modes but the two modes cannot simultaneously be invoked by the claimants. the claimant must opt/elect to go either for a proceeding under section 163-a or under section 166 of the m.v. act but not under both. the award under section 163-a is final and cannot be described as interim and no proceeding for compensation under section 166 can be undertaken once the award is declared under section 163-a. bhagwati prasad, j.1. in this case the accused were tried by the trial court for offence under section 306 ipc. both the accused persons chain ram and smt. jamna bai were convicted under section 306 and were sentenced to two years' r.i. and a fine of rs. 500/-. during the course of appeal accused chain ram died. due to the death of chain ram, his appeal abates.2. this appeal is decided only in relation to respondent no. 2 jamna bai. the trial court has found that there used to be a quarrel between the deceased and chain ram and smt. jamna bai and accused chain ram had told about the second marriage of his son. it has been inferred by the trial court that, since the father in law of the deceased had told the deceased that he will perform second marriage of his son, the deceased was persuaded to commit suicide. the appeal against the father in law has already been abated as he has died.3. the only allegation against the mother-in-law is that she used to quarrel with the deceased. mere quarreling cannot be said to be a circumstance which can abet a human being to commit suicide. in this view of the matter, the ingredients of section 306 ipc is found lacking and therefore, the conviction and sentence recorded against the appellant cannot be sustained.4. consequently, the appeal of the appellant is accepted. the conviction and sentence recorded against the accused is set aside. she is on bail. her bail bonds are cancelled.