Date of judgement:
18 July 2021
Judge:
Justice Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari
Parties:
Appellant - Bhagwanrao Mahadeo Patil
Respondent - Appa Ramchandra Savkar
Overview
- In this case, a married woman committed suicide after only 15 months of marriage, leaving behind two suicide notes.
- The complainant/ deceased's father filed an FIR against the husband, as well as his father-in-law and mother-in-law, for offences under Sections 304B, 306, 498A, 406, 506 read with Section 34 IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
- The deceased's mother-in-law and father-in-law were later cleared of the offence under Section 306 IPC by the High Court, while the charges under Section 304B IPC and the Dowry Prohibition Act were confirmed.
- Respondents no. 1 and 2 filed a discharge motion with the Trial Court, which was denied by the Sessions Judge in an order dated July 23, 2018. The Sessions Judge determined prima facie that there was sufficient material on record to construct charges against all of the defendants based on the testimony of the witnesses and suicide notes.
Issues
Can an accused be discharged U/s 306 IPC while confirming charge U/s 304B IPC?
Important provisions
Section 306 - Abetment of suicide
Section 304B - Dowry death
Judgement analysis
- It was argued before the Supreme Court that once charges under Section 304B IPC were filed, the charge under Section 306 IPC could not be dropped because the deceased's suicide notes and witness statements existed, and the in-laws could not have been cleared of the offence under Section 306 IPC based on their examination.
- They argued that in a scenario where a charge under Section 306 IPC is made, a party can be dismissed under Section 304B IPC, but not the other way around, citing Bhupendra vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (2014) 2 SCC 106.
- While agreeing with this argument, the Court cited the following observations made in Bhupendra: "We are, therefore, of the opinion that Section 306 IPC is significantly broader in its application and takes one part of Section 304B IPC within its fold." These two Sections do not have to be read in order. A conviction for causing suicide under Section 304B IPC will invariably result in a conviction under Section 306 IPC. The opposite, however, is not true."
Conclusion
We are of the opinion that the accused should not have been discharged of the offence under Section 306 IPC, especially when charges under Section 304B IPC and other related sections had already been framed and confirmed, after hearing learned counsel parties, considering the totality of the circumstances, and keeping in mind the suicide notes as well as the statements of witnesses, the Bench said.
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