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Harrased (NA)     01 November 2012

No fir in suicide case

Hi,

Need experts opinion. A friend's wife committed suicide (four years of marriage). She was having mental problems (letters and medical reports to prove this). Dying declaration is very strongly in favor of husband and in-laws. Husband himself took her to hospital. Police was infromed by hospital. Her father in his application to police says that post mortem to be done and any appropriate action to be taken after the reson of death be known from post mortem. Police mentions in report for CrPC 174 that prima facie there is no foul play. Police starts inquest proceedings. Post mortem report mentions cause of death as "Asphyxia due to ante mortem hanging, viscera preserved to rule out associated intoxication".

There is no FIR for more than six months. On cantacting IO for case status, he says that the girl's family is pressurizing for FIR but he is not entertaining it as the viscera report has not come yet. Any action shall be taken only if viscera report indicates something.

Now, where does the case stand for husband?

1) Can viscera report be tampered with? Girl's family is influential and wealthy.

2) If viscera report comes clean, can they still lodge the FIR?

3) Is there a time limit for Police to file the final report or they can indefinitely sit on this?

Isn't it too much a delay in FIR. Is IO just intimidationg the guy to get easy money?

Need help ASAP.



Learning

 10 Replies

AMIT KUMAR GUPTA (ADVOCATE)     01 November 2012

as there is no time limit to file an FIR....... You can filed it........

Harrased (NA)     01 November 2012

Thank you Mr. Ashish for the clarity.

Now, there is still some time in viscera report. What are the options before the husband. I need your PRACTICAL advice -

1) The SHO is asking for a bribe to not lodge the FIR. Should this path be taken? Police themselves are aware and admit that this is an open and shut case. Going this way is highly assumptive as we shall never get the assurance. Two reasons that come to mind- a) SHO might get transferred and a new one might lodge the FIR. b) The girl's family may give a higher bribe and then get the boy entangled in the case. IF we go this way, should we negotiate Police to give us the final report.

2) This was not an arranged marriage. There was no exchange of DOWRY. Can they still charge with dowry death? There are proofs to show that girl's relation with husband and family were extremely coordial till her last day. The couple lived alone i.e. boy's parents did not live with them.

3) Girl's family has claimed all her monies. Husband being the legal successor is the claimant of all the monies. Should a civil case/succession case be filed on girl's family. Will it help when if/when they lodge an FIR that a civil case is already on them and we get this argument that they filed a false case only because the husband claimed his right.

What shall be your other advice to the husband? How can we prepare. Please help.

Hareshkumar Shrimali (Branch Executive)     01 November 2012

There is nowhere in Dowry Death, that IO can File Chargesheet after 90 days. If IO has/have to file Chargesheet, then he/she has to take permission from Competent Court after filing Application & giving Genuine Reasons for Delay. But more often, courts are allowing & pardoning Delay. In my case, ( I was a Bank Employee having Completed 20+ years' Service in Punjab National Bank ) & my Wife was also District Panchayat Servant for 7 years. She committed suicide after completion of 9 Years & 10 Months' married life having one Son Aged 7 years at that time & now HE is 25(MBA). My late Brother-in-law ( M.Sc., LLB ) filed FIR,my in-laws are very very rich & infuential. They approached the very S econd day to Home Minister, Gandhinagar to transfer the case to Higher Investigating Authority. I was released on Bail as IO couldn't file Chargesheet within 90 days. After almost One year my late Father-in-law ( Retired Deputy Collector & Practising Lawyer at that time) approached Gujarat H.C.to instruct IO ( State CID )to file chargesheet immediately. Even IO's affidavit to file Chargesheet immediately, one Week after it was filed. (Gap of One year & 3 months in filing chargesheet) after 9 years, I was convicted for 4 years u/s IPC 306 with Fine of Rs.25000/- & for 2 years u/s 498-A alongwith a Fine for Rs.500/- . For Both Convictions( inclusive all ), I had to remain in Jail for more than 4 months. Gujarat H.C. gave me bail & still my Appeal challenging conviction is pending. Kindly advise me what to do? I can send zerox copies of Entire Case to you at any given Address. Haresh Shrimali, Limbdi ( Dist: Surendranagar) Gujarat 8530155400

dr g balakrishnan (advocate/counsel supreme court)     01 November 2012

it is essential to be noted in any suicide cases whether suicide is influenced that mens one commits suicide after one forces the other to commit suicide. if that happens how can you show in post mortem whether other forced the suicide. so these days suicides adre invariably influenced. So the person forced sucide cannot be got as the one we get some one caused the murder though in fact the suicide is a murder.

These days perverted intelligence is the cause of forced suicides invariably influenced by films which show how suicide of a person though a murder can be shown as a suicide and thus escape that way many suicide induced murderers escape. So the forensics cannot help obviously.

so to identify how the suicide took place is the basis of new investigation methods after all all IOs are not well trained so the SHOs help foisting or twisting on the basis of bribes.

When an FIR is registered the loyal police has to promptly register and make a follow on but of late we find police has obviously failed.

so when police fail to register yur FIR  one immediately lodge complaint to jjurisdictional magistrates for promt investigation provision is in cr p c.

if any one is sincere and really ethical he or she shd ensure no suicides in his or her family takes place and that way precautions need be taken, as any twists ae possible if delayed in filing FIR BY ANY.

YOUR SUBMISSIONS are not clear as far as why at all there was suicide of your near and dear took place, there seems some suppressions of information, so legal advice if given it may be wrong due to any twists at any end. 

 

So several times prosecutions fail unless real root causes are not clear please. sorry, thanks.. adv.dr. g.balakrishnan, counsel supreme court 

Harrased (NA)     26 December 2012

 

 

Hi,

We have come to know that complaint has been filed under 304B/498A/506/406/34 against us. We still have some time with us before the case will proceed.

 Please advise what should be the strategy-

 1) For 498A/506/406- It was love cum arranged marriage; hence there was no exchange of dowry, just three gold items to the boy. All the girl's gold (including what was gifted by Boy's side) is with them. The receipts of common household items are in boy's name. Also, there is a fake cheque that they gave just to show off and we did never encash- how good evidence is that to prove that they tried but we did not take anything.

 

Shall we return all (the little) we have?  What to do if they claim something, which was not exchanged (like false GOLD claim)? What should be the method of returning so that it can be proved later on that we did return?

 The girl's side however did help in couple's flat when needed. Some of the amount was as a gift and some as a loan (no legal document to prove this, just verbal). The couple used to return the amount of loan through their salaries. This was going on since two years. What if they now claim that they gave this amount under pressure?

 2) How strong is the 304 B case? There are prescripttions from a psychiatrist and one other doctor. Also, the note she left mentions that she was loved and treated well by husband and in laws and was ending her life because of mental problems caused by herself. There is another letter mentioning she was having problems following the religious sect her family introduced her into. This sect was followed by her side and not boy's side but the boy never stopped her from following it since their marriage. There is an e-mail sent by the boy to girl's office mentioning her depression and request to assign her to some work of her choice. There is plenty of electronic proof in terms of recent videos, photographs, e-mails, chats etc. to establish very good relations between husband-wife and the in laws.

 3) How good is the argument about them not lodging the FIR earlier? What they did is first claim and get all the monies in girl's name (parents were the nominees and the nominations were not changed after marriage) and now initiate the complaint to harass the boy and his family.

 Should we counter attack before the heat comes? We can initiate a civil suit on them for recovery of all the monies they have got as nominees as a nominee needs to return the monies to legal successors (in this case, husband).

 Please help as we are very tense about the future. What I am reading about 304 B cases is that the electronic evidence we have shall be of no/little value and they can implicate us through TOTALLY false oral claims!

 

Harrased (NA)     26 December 2012

Thanks Ashish for letting us know the reality of the law. This is very disturbing to know that the innocent stands no chance in the eyes of the law.

So you mean to say that even if the suicide note supports husband and in-laws, it is of no value? What about other evidence showing the girl was always well treated?


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