Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
COMPETITION, 2016
P-MML114 -
IN THE MATTER OF
STATE
...PROSECUTION
V.
RAHUL
...DEFENSE
MML
-114
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
11
STATEMENT OF FACTS
12
ISSUES RAISED
13
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS
14
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED
ISSUE 1: WHETHER THE ACCUSED IS LIABLE TO BE CONVICTED FOR
MURDER UNDER SECTION 302 OF IPC?
15
15
16
17
19
21
22
23
23
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26
26
27
28
29
34
34
35
PRAYER
36
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
&
AIR
All
ALR
Anr.
Art.
Edn.
Honble
i.e.
ILR
LW
Ltd.
Mad
M.P.
MLJ
No
Pvt.
SC
SCC
SCR
U/S
U.P.
v.
Viz.
Vol.
www
And
Paragraph
All India Reporter
Allahabad
Allahabad Law Reports
Another
Article
Edition
Honourable
That is
Indian Law Reports
Law Weekly
Limited
Madras
Madhya Pradesh
Madras Law Journal
Number
Private
Supreme Court
Supreme Court Cases
Supreme Court Reports
Under section
Uttar Pradesh
Versus
Namely
Volume
World Wide Web
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INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
CASES CITED
S.NO
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24..
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
CASES CITED
State of Madhya Pradesh v. Shrideen Chhatri Prasad
Suryawanshi,
Jetha Ram v. State of Rajasthan,
Kailash Baburao Pandit v. State of Maharashtra
State of U.P. v. Dr. R.P. Mittal
Vithal Tukaram More v. State of Maharashtra
Kartik Sahu v. State
State of Maharashtra v. Vilas Pandurang Patil
Thangaraj v. State by Inspector of Police
Prithviraj v. State of Rajasthan
Bodh Raj v. State of J&K
Dhananjoy Chatterjee v. State of W.B.
Sukhram v. State of Maharashtra
Peria Rajendran v. State
Anant v. State of Bombay
Laxman Naik v. State of Orissa
Janar Lal Das v. State of Orissa
A. Jayaram and Anr. v. State of AP,
Mahmood v. State of UP
Basu Harijan v. State of Orissa;
Pratap Tigga v. State of Bihar
State of West Bengal v. Orilal Jaiswal
Kunduru Dharua v. State
Sheo Govind Bin v. State of Bihar
Kehar Singh v. State (Delhi Administration)
Govinda Reddy v. State of Mysore
Deonandan Mishra v. State of Bihar
Rajan Johnsonbhai Christy v. State of Gujarat
Alamgir v. State (NCT, Delhi)
Reddy Sampath Kumar v. State of A.P
Bakshish Singh v. State of Punjab
Reddy Sampath Kumar v. State of A.P.,
Kumaravel v. State
State of H.P. v. Diwana
Omanakuttan v. State of Kerala
Sharad Birdichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra,
Ashok Kumar Chatterjee v. State of M.P.
Earabhadrappa v. State of Karnataka
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PROSECUTION
CITATION
2012 CrLJ 2106(MP)
2012 CrLJ 2459(Raj)
2011 CrLJ 4044(Bom).
AIR 1992 SC 2045
(2002) 7 SCC 20
1994 CrLJ 102 (Ori)
1999 CrLJ 1062 (Bom)
1994 CrLJ NOC 16(Mad)
2004 CrLJ 2190 (Raj)
AIR 2002 SC 3164
(1994) 2 SCC 220, 229
(2007) 7 SCC 502, 511
2007 CrLJ 1242
AIR 1960 SC 500
1995 CrLJ 2692
1991 (3) SCC 27
AIR 1995 SC 2128
AIR 1976 SC 69
2003 CrLJ 2270
2004 CrLJ NOC 86(Jhar)
AIR 1994 SC 1418
2002 CrLJ 1757 (Ori).
1985 BBCJ 632
AIR 1988 SC 1883
AIR 1960 SC 29
(1955) 2 SCR 570
1997 CrLJ 3702(Guj)
AIR 2003 SC 282
(2005) 7 SCC 603
AIR 1971 SC 2016
AIR 2005 SC 3478
2009 CrLJ 262
1995 CrLJ 3002 (hp)
2000 CrLJ 4893 (Ker)
1984 CrLJ 1738
1989 CrLJ 2124
1983 CrLJ 846
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38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59..
60.
AIR 1982 PH 1
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
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80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
State v. Sashibhushan
State of Haryana v. Sher Singh
Dalel Singh v. Jag Mohan Bihar
State of U.P. v. Sughar Singh
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
120.
Page 7
121.
122.
123.
124.
125.
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
133.
134.
135.
136.
137.
138.
139.
140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145.
146.
147.
148.
149.
150.
151.
152.
153.
154.
155.
156.
157.
158.
159.
160.
161.
162.
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STATUTES REFERRED
1.
2.
3.
4.
JOURNALS REFEERED
S.NO
NAME
1.
2.
3.
Manupatra
4.
5.
1.
2.
BOOKS REFERRED:
Batuk Lal, Commentary on the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Ed. R. P. Kataria
and S. K. A. Naqvi, Vol-I, (Section 1 to 300), (Orient Publishing Company, 1st
Edn. New Delhi) (2006-07).
Dr. Hari Singh Gour, The Penal Law of India, Vol-I, (Section 1 to 120), (Law
Publishers (India) Pvt. Ltd., 11th Edn.) (2006).
Halsburys Laws of India, Vol-32, Criminal Procedure I & II, (Lexis Nexis
Butterworths, New Delhi) (2007).
5.
Nelson R. A. Indian Penal Code, 10th Ed. (2008)
6.
Kathuria, R.P. Supreme Court on Criminal Law, 1950-2002, ( 6th Ed. 2002)
7. Princeps Commentary on the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (18th ed. 2005)
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8.
9.
10. Ratanlal and Dhirajlal, Commentary on the Code of Criminal Procedure, VolI & II, (Wadhwa and Company, 18th Edn., Nagpur) (2006).
11.
Ratanlal and Dhirajlal, Law of Crimes, Vol-I & II, Ed. Justice C. K. Thakkar,
(Bharat Law House, 25th Edn., New Delhi) (Reprint 2006).
LEGAL DICTIONARIES
S.NO
NAME
1.
2.
3.
STROUDS JUDICIAL DICTIONARY OF WORDS AND PHRASES, VOL-I TO III, EDITOR DANIEL
GREENBERG, (SWEET AND MAXWELL LTD., 7TH EDN., 2006, REPRINT 2008) LONDON.
4.
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STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
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STATEMENT OF FACTS
1. February, 2013: Priya, aged 24, completed her education in mass communication
from Dehradun. was a 24 year old girl. She moved to Delhi for better career
opportunities but struggled to settle there.
2. May, 2013: Priya met Rahul who was running a production agency. They both shared
common interests and became close friends.
3. July,2013: Rahul helped her to find a good job and also arranged an apartment for
her. Rahul was a big support for Priya in Delhi.
4. December, 2013: They decided to live in together and lived happily for two years.
5. January, 2016: Priya suspected Rahul of having physical relations with Pooja. Rahul
said Pooja was her client and tried to convince Priya that he re is nothing going on
between him and Pooja. Priya was mentally upset and went to depression.
6. February, 2016: Things were not going good in between Rahul and Priya. They were
spotted often fighting with each other even at public places. Once Rahul said that its
better to get separated and move on life but Priya was not convinced.
7. 15th May, 2016: Pooja visited their apartment and which Priya got offended. Rahul
asked Pooja to leave the apartment. Priya accused Rahul for bad character. Rahul tried
to convince Priya but became frustrated as things didnt get resolved.
8. 16 May, 2016: He left the apartment when she was asleep without informing her.
When she woke up, she tried calling her but he didnt pickup her call and instead
switched off his phone. She found herself lonely and alone.When he came back, he
found her body hanging from the ceiling fan. He gathered some neighbours and her
body was taken to hospital where she was declared brought dead.
9. According to her mother, she was two months pregnant and proposed Rahul for
marriage but he refused to marry and compelled her to abort the child. The doctors
have also confirmed that Priya was pregnant and had undergone abortion not long
before her demise. There was no suicide note found.
10. Rahul has been arrested on the complaint of Priya's mother. The Police registered a case
against Rahul u/s 302 IPC,306 IPC, 312 IPC, 313 IPC, 323 IPC and 376 IPC.
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ISSUES RAISED
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SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS
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ARGUMENTS ADVANCED
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not extend to the intention of causing death, the offence would be murder. Illustration (c)
appended to S. 300 clearly brings out this point4.
In the present case, the accused compelled the deceased for aborting their child and refused to
marry. The accused wanted to get rid away of the deceased while the deceased loved the
accused truly and she tried to make their relationship better. Therefore, the accused planned
everything and murdered the deceased.
1.2 MENS REA TO COMMIT MURDER WAS PRESENT
In the absence of any circumstances to show that injury was caused accidentally or
unintentionally, it is presumed that there was intention to cause the inflicted injury. 5 Mens rea
is considered as guilty intention6, which is proved or inferred from the acts of the accused7.
In the present case, there is no doubt that the death of deceased is non-natural death. It cannot
be accidental or intentional also. This indicates that the accused has some active part in the
death of the deceased which makes a strong case against the accused for murder.
It is presumed that every sane person intends the result that his action normally produces and
if a person hits another on a vulnerable part of the body, and death occurs as a result, the
intention of the accused can be no other than to take the life of the victim and the offence
committed amounts to murder8. Moreover, the intention to kill is not required in every case,
mere knowledge that natural and probable consequences of an act would be death will suffice
for a conviction under s. 302 of IPC9.
Sec 8, Evidence Act stipulates that any fact is relevant which shows or constitutes motive or
preparation for any fact in issue or relevant fact. Thus, previous threats or altercations
between parties are admitted to show motive10. It is further pertinent to note that if there is
motive in doing an act, then the adequacy of that motive is not in all cases necessary. Heinous
offences have been committed for very slight motive.11
For the commission of the offence of murder, it is not necessary that the accused should have
the intention to cause death. It is now well settled that if it is proved that the accused had the
4
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intention to inflict the injuries actually suffered by the victim and such injuries are found to
be sufficient in ordinary course of nature to cause death, the ingredient of clause 3rdly of S.
300 of the I.P.C are fulfilled and the accused must be held guilty of murder punishable under
S. 302 of the I.P.C.12
Arguendo, Absence of motive is irrelevant
Assuming for the sake of argument that the accused had no motive, it is humbly contended
that absence of motive is no ground for dismissing the case. Motive is immaterial so far as the
offence is concerned, and need not be established13 as the mere existence of motive is by
itself, not an incriminating circumstance and cannot take the place of a proof.14
Therefore, absence of proof of motive, does not break the link in the chain of circumstances
connecting the accused with the crime, nor militates against the prosecution case and is not
fatal as a matter of law.15 When the circumstantial evidence on record is sufficient to prove
beyond any doubt to prove that it was the accused and no one else, who intentionally caused
the death of the accused then, motive of the crime need not be proved 16, as in the current
case.
12
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Bearing in mind that it is not for the prosecution to meet any and every hypothesis suggested
by the accused, howsoever extravagant and fanciful it might be21, it is humbly submitted
before this Honble Court that the circumstantial evidence in the instant matter shows that
within all human probability, the act must have been done by the accused22.
PW-26 and PW-27 did not rule out the possibility of suicidal hanging altogether, but certain
injuries found on the deceased being ante-mortem in nature and since hairs were seen
projecting from the knot, both the witnesses who conducted the autopsy, came to the
conclusion that possibly the death was homicidal. It would, thus, appear that the medical
evidence was not very categorical about the homicidal nature of death.23
In a similar case, the Doctor, PW-5, who conducted the post-mortem examination, found two
injuries and there was no evidence of any ligature mark around the neck. He gave the opinion
that the deceased died of asphyxia due to manual strangulation (throttling) and death must
have been almost instantaneous. After receipt of the post-mortem report, Ex P-4 and on
completion of investigation, the investigating agency altered the case to one under Ss. 498-A
and 302, I.P.C.24
It is submitted that the post mortem report suggests strangulation marks on the neck & other
mild injuries, scratches and scars on the body. The phrase other mild injuries, scratches and
scars on the body signifies that there was some physical spat between the accused and the
deceased. It means that the deceased resisted the accused while he was using force.
Therefore, it is established that there was actus reus. In the post mortem report, the cause of
death was stated as strangulation. There is nothing given as to signify homicidal death. There
is no oral or documentary evidence present to prove the actus reus. In various cases, courts
have given the different meanings of strangulation25 but usage of such a general term in the
post mortem does not lead to any conclusive proof26. So hence there is no clarity as to
whether the death was suicidal or homicidal.
21
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1.4 CIRCUMSTANTIAL
EVIDENCE
PROVES
THE
MURDER
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BEYOND
REASONABLE DOUBT
Essential ingredients to prove guilt by circumstantial evidence are:
(1) Circumstances from which conclusion is drawn should be fully proved.
(2) Circumstances should be conclusive.
(3) All facts so established should be consistent only with the hypothesis of guilt and
inconsistent with innocence of the accused.
(4) Circumstances should exclude the possibility of guilt of a person other than the accused.27
The Supreme Court, in Bodh Raj v. State of J&K,28 added one more point to the above four,
viz., there must be a chain of evidence so complete as not to leave any reasonable ground for
the conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused and must show that in all human
probability the act must have been done by the accused. These conditions being satisfied
circumstantial evidence can be the sole basis for conviction.
Justice Hidayatullah observed "Circumstantial evidence in this context means a combination
of facts creating a net-work through which there is no escape for the accused, because the
facts taken as a whole do not admit of any inference but of his guilt."29
When attempting to convict on circumstantial evidence alone the Court must be firmly
satisfied of the following three things30:
i. The circumstances from which the inference of guilt is to be drawn, must have fully been
established by unimpeachable evidence beyond a shadow of doubt
ii. The circumstances are of determinative tendency, unerringly pointing towards the guilt of
the accused
iii. The circumstances taken collectively, are incapable of explanation on any reasonable
hypothesis except that of the guilt sought to be proved against him
27
State of U.P. v. Dr. R.P. Mittal, AIR 1992 SC 2045, applied in Vithal Tukaram More v. State of Maharashtra,
(2002) 7 SCC 20, (para 11). Also see Kartik Sahu v. State, 1994 CrLJ 102 (para 6) (Ori); State of Maharashtra
v. Vilas Pandurang Patil, 1999 CrLJ 1062, 1065 (Bom); Thangaraj v. State by Inspector of Police, 1994 CrLJ
NOC 16(Mad) ; Prithviraj v. State of Rajasthan, 2004 CrLJ 2190, 2196 (paras 25 & 26) (Raj) : 2004 CrLR
598(Raj) : 2004 (2) Raj CrC 552.
28
AIR 2002 SC 3164, para 17 : (2002) 8 SCC 45. See also Dhananjoy Chatterjee v. State of W.B., (1994) 2 SCC
220, 229, para 7 : (2002) 8 SCC 45; Sukhram v. State of Maharashtra, (2007) 7 SCC 502, 511 (para 20); Peria
Rajendran v. State, 2007 CrLJ 1242, 1245 (para 9) (Mad).
29
Anant v. State of Bombay, AIR 1960 SC 500 at page 523. See also Laxman Naik v. State of Orissa, 1995 CrLJ
2692 (para 11) : AIR 1995 SC 1387.
30
Mahmood v. State of UP AIR 1976 SC 69
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It is humbly submitted before this Honble Court that evidence of the suicide has to be drawn
from the post-mortem report of the victim and the mental condition of the victim. It is
humbly submitted that as per Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, Evidence includes all
documents produced for the inspection of the Court31. These documents are admissible in
court as expert opinion under Section 45 of the I.E.A.
It is respectfully submitted that the post mortem report submitted by the doctor conducting
autopsy of the dead body is admissible in evidence even without examining the doctor in
court32. The Apex Court has admitted as evidence and relied on post mortem reports in a
catena of cases33.
The standard of proof required to convict a person on circumstantial evidence is wellestablished by a series of decisions of the Supreme Court. According to that standard the
circumstances relied upon in support of the conviction must be fully established34 and the
chain of evidence furnished by those circumstances must be so far complete as not to leave
any reasonable ground for a conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused35 and
further it must be such as to show that within all human probability the act must have been
done by the accused36 and, if two views are possible on such evidence, the view pointing
towards the innocence of the accused is to be adopted.37 However, this does not mean that
before the prosecution can succeed in a case resting upon circumstantial evidence alone, it
must meet any and every hypothesis suggested by the accused, however extravagant and
fanciful it might be. Further, it is not necessary that every one of the proved facts must in
itself be decisive of the complicity of the accused or point conclusively to this guilt.
Therefore, when deciding the question of sufficiency, what the Court has to consider is the
total cumulative effect of all the proved facts each one of which re-enforces the conclusion of
31
"Evidence" means and includes-- (1) all statements which the Court permits or requires to be made before it
by witnesses, in relation to matters of fact under inquiry; such statements are called oral evidence; (2) all
documents produced for the inspection of the Court; such documents are called documentary evidence.
32
Basu Harijan v. State of Orissa 2003 CrLJ 2270; Pratap Tigga v. State of Bihar 2004 CrLJ NOC 86(Jhar).
33
State of West Bengal v. Orilal Jaiswal AIR 1994 SC 1418, Kunduru Dharua v. State 2002 CrLJ 1757 (Ori).
34
Govinda Reddy v. State of Mysore, AIR 1960 SC 29
35
Deonandan Mishra v. State of Bihar, (1955) 2 SCR 570. Chain of circumstancial evidence complete,
conviction for murder proper, Rajan Johnsonbhai Christy v. State of Gujarat, 1997 CrLJ 3702(Guj) ; Alamgir v.
State (NCT, Delhi), AIR 2003 SC 282, (paras 10-13); Reddy Sampath Kumar v. State of A.P., (2005) 7 SCC 603,
604 (para 7).
36
Bakshish Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1971 SC 2016. See also Reddy Sampath Kumar v. State of A.P., (2005)
7 SCC 603, 604 (para 7) : AIR 2005 SC 3478; Kumaravel v. State, 2009 CrLJ 262, 266-67 (para 12.4).
37
State of H.P. v. Diwana, 1995 CrLJ 3002 (paras 10 and 11) (HP). See also Omanakuttan v. State of Kerala,
2000 CrLJ 4893 (paras 5 and 6) (Ker), relying on Earabhadrappa v. State of Karnataka, 1983 CrLJ 846 : AIR
1983 SC 446; Sharad Birdichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, 1984 CrLJ 1738 : AIR 1984 SC 1622 and
Ashok Kumar Chatterjee v. State of M.P., 1989 CrLJ 2124 : AIR 1989 SC 1890.
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guilt.38It is the cumulative result of all the circumstances which must unerringly point to the
guilt of the accused and not one circumstance by itself.39
It is the function of the court to separate the grain from the chaff and accept what appears to
be true and reject the rest.40
38
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The post-mortem report is an extremely relevant and important document, in cases brought
under Sec.302, of the Indian Penal Code.47 The post mortem report becomes important in
cases where the cause of death is to be established and is a matter of controversy48.
The chain of link starts from the fact that they both fell in love. Later on, they started living in
together. The accused had illicit relationship with Priya. Meanwhile, the deceased aborted
their child because the accused forced her to do so. Moreover, the accused refused to marry
her but she had faith in her love. When the deceased came to know about the illicit
relationship, the accused got an intention to remove her from his life. On 15th May the
accused came to know about the character of the accused and on 16th May, the deceased died.
There was no one else in the apartment apart from the accused and the deceased. The
presence of injuries on the deceased body indicates that there was use of force on her body.
The above mentioned chain of link is complete and prove the guilt of the accused beyond
reasonable doubt.
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beyond reasonable doubt, the defence of alibi can be probabilised also. The false plea of alibi
cannot destroy the prosecution case which is supported by direct and unshaken evidence of
the eye-witnesses. The false plea of alibi cannot destroy the prosecution case which is
supported by direct and unshaken evidence of the eye-witnesses.53
From the above authorities, it is clear that the burden is on the accused to prove that he was
not present at the apartment when the deceased died. On 16th May morning , the deceased
trying calling accused but the accused didnt picked her call. After that, the accused switched
off his mobile phone. The accused switched off his mobile phone so that his location cannot
be traced out and used as an evidence against him.
1.4.3 Last seen evidence
The last seen theory comes into play where the time-gap between the point of time when the
accused and the deceased were seen last alive and when the deceased is found dead is so
small that possibility of any person other than the accused being the author of the crime
becomes impossible. It would be difficult in some cases to positively establish that the
deceased was last seen with the accused when there is a long gap and possibility of the other
persons coming in between exists.54
Last seen together evidence cannot be discarded merely on the grounds of discrepancy in the
statement of the witness, who was a rustic village woman, about the day and time of the
occurrence in the FIR as she could not be expected to have remembered the incident, after a
lapse of four years. However, the witness reaffirmed that she last saw the deceased and the
accused talking to each other sitting at the place. Her statement could be relied upon.26The
deceased wife was last seen with her husband on a motorbike. It was held to be not essential
for the accused to be the owner of the vehicle.55.
It is submitted that the deceased was last seen together with the accused. There is a strong
case against the accused as there was no one else in the apartment that morning.
53
State of Haryana v. Sher Singh, AIR 1981 SC 1021; Dalel Singh v. Jag Mohan Singh, 1981 CrLJ 667(Del) ;
State of U.P. v. Sughar Singh, AIR 1978 SC 191; Chandrika Prasad Singh v. State of Bihar, AIR 1972 SC 109;
D.B. Deshmukh v. State, AIR 1970 Bom 438; Yaduram v. State, 1972 CrLJ 1464(J&K) ; relying on Sarat
Chandra v. Emperor, AIR 1934 Cal 719; Parbhoo v. Emperor, AIR 1941 All 402. Also see Amir Hossain v.
State of Tripura, 1998 CrLJ 4315, at page 4323 (Gau); Chandrika Prasad Singh v. State of Bihar, AIR 1972 SC
109; State v. Murugan, 2002 CrLJ 670, 673 (para 19) (Mad) : 2001 (2) Mad LW (Cri) 815; Rajendra Singh v.
State of U.P., (2007) 7 SCC 378, 385-86 (para 8)
54
Uda alias Suda v. The State of Rajasthan, 2001 CrLJ NOC 28(Raj)
55
Vikas v. State of Rajasthan, (2002) 6 SCC 728, para 13 : AIR 2002 SC 2830
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56
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Sangita at the time of incident, as per the post-mortem report, was having a pregnancy of 3-4
months and this is also not in tune with the act of commission of suicide.64
A young pregnant woman having a child in the womb would not ordinarily commit suicide
unless she was compelled to do so.65 The sequence of events does not lead to any inference
that something happened during the night which made her commit suicide immediately.66
That constant fact of wailing and weeping is one of the important symptoms of an intention to
commit suicide as mentioned by George W. Brown and Tirril Harris in their book " Social
Origins of Depression"67
Normally, one would not commit suicide unless there are strong and compelling reasons for
it. Thus, ordinarily there has to be a very pressing motive behind every case of suicide.68
The inference of proof of a fact in dispute, having been established, can be drawn from the
given objective facts, direct or circumstantial.69
It is the say of the deceased that she was 'madly in love' with the accused. If deceased was
really in love, she would not have committed suicide her faith in her love would have
restrained her from taking refusal of accused to marry, in literal sense. Further, the person in
love would not express oneself by urging that the action as strong as possible should be taken
against his or her beloved. Love never demands, it only gives. It is certainly doubtful that
language of nature used in the suicide note would ever be used by one for the person with
whom one claimed to be in love. The learned trial court has rightly raised the doubt about
genuineness of the suicide.70
64
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71
Virendra Kumar vs State of U.P 2007 Cri LJ 1435 (1438) (SC); Dalbir Singh vs State of U.P AIR 2004 SC
1990
72
K Prema Rao v. Yadla Srinivasa Rao AIR 2003 SC 11; Hira Lal v. State (Govt of NCT), Delhi AIR 2003 SC
2865; Kaliyaperumal v. State of Tamil Nadu AIR 2003 SC 3828; Lakhjit Singh v. State of Punjab (1994) Supp 1
SCC 173
73
1994 Supp (1) SCC 173
74
AIR 2009 SC 2387
75
2010 4 Cal LT 156
76
Birendra Kumar v. State of U.P. 2007 Cr LJ 1435 SC
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306. Abetment of suicide - If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide,
shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall
also be liable to fine.
78
Ramesh Kumar vs State of Punjab AIR 1994 SC 945
79
State of Punjab v. Iqbal Singh, AIR 1991 SC 1532; Surender v. State of Hayana, (2006) 12 SCC 375; Kishori
Lal v. State of M.P., AIR 2007 SC 2457; and Sonti Rama Krishna v. Sonti Shanti Sree, AIR 2009 SC 923.
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hanging himself because of alleged illicit relationship between his wife and the accused.
Accused took the wife of deceased away from house of her brother and kept her with him for
4 days. There is definitely a proximity and nexus between the conduct and behaviour of
accused and wife of deceased with that of suicide committed by the deceased.83
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court85. The Apex Court has admitted as evidence and relied on post mortem reports in a
catena of cases86.
Basu Harijan v. State of Orissa 2003 CrLJ 2270; Pratap Tigga v. State of Bihar 2004 CrLJ NOC 86(Jhar).
State of West Bengal v. Orilal Jaiswal AIR 1994 SC 1418, Kunduru Dharua v. State 2002 CrLJ 1757 (Ori).
87
14. Facts showing existence of state of mind, or of body, of bodily feeling - Facts showing the existence of
any state of mind, such as intention, knowledge, good faith, negligence, rashness, ill- will or good- will towards
any particular person, or showing the existence of any state of body or bodily feeling, are relevant, when the
existence of any such state of mind or body or bodily feeling, is in issue or relevant.
88
Ramesh Kumar vs State of Punjab AIR 1994 SC 945
89
Asha Shukla v. State of U.P. 2002 CriLJ 2233
90
Parimal Chatterji v. Emperor 140 Ind. Cas.787.
86
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of anger or emotion without intending the consequences to actually follow, cannot be said to
be instigation. Thus, to constitute 'instigation', a person who instigates another has to
provoke, incite, urge or encourage the doing of an act by the other by "goading" or 'urging
forward'. The dictionary meaning of the word "goad" is "a thing that stimulates someone into
act ion; provoke to action or reaction.....to keep irritating or annoying somebody until he
reacts.91 The word "instigate" literally means to provoke, incite, urge on or bring about by
persuasion to do anything. The abetment may be by inaligation, conspiracy or intentional aid
as provided in the three clauses of the section.92 Instigate means the active role played by a
person with a view to stimulate another person to do the thing. In order to hold a person
guilty of abetting it must be established that he had intentionally done something which
amounted to instigating another to do a thing.93
The Supreme Court has observed in the case of Gangula Mohan Reddy Vs. State of Andhra
Pradesh94, that: "20. Abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or
intentionally aiding a person in doing of a thing. Without a positive act on the part of the
accused to instigate or aid in committing suicide, conviction cannot be sustained.
It is submitted that there is no instigation by the accused. There are problems in every
relationship but that cannot be concluded as instigation under abetment.
As to what would constitute instigation for the commission of an offence would depend upon
the facts of each case.
Therefore, in order to decide whether a person has abetted by instigation the commission of
an offence or not, the act of abetment has to be judged in the conspectus of the entire
evidence in the case. The act of abetment attributed to an accused is not to be viewed or
tested in isolation.95 The Supreme Court has reiterated that before anybody can be punished
for abetment of suicide, it must be proved that the death in question was a suicidal death.96
Therefore, in order to decide whether a person has abetted by instigation the commission of
an offence or not, the act of abetment has to be judged in the conspectus of the entire
91
Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (Government of NCT of Delhi), AIR 2010 SC 1446; Kishangiri Mangalgiri
Goswami v. State of Gujarat, (2009) 4 SCC 52 : (2009) 1 SCR 672 : AIR 2009 SC 1808 : 2009 0 Cri.L.J 1720.
92
Goura Venkata Reddy v. State of A.P., (2003) 12 SCC 469.
93
Rajib Neog v. State of Assam, 2011 CrLJ 399(Gau) .
94
2010 Cr.L.J. 2110 (Supreme Court)
95
Brij Lal vs Prem Chand AIR 1989 SC 1661
96
Wazir Chand v. State of Haryana, AIR 1989 SC 378 : 1989 Cr LJ 809 : (1989) 1 SCC 244. Where the charge
was under s. 148/304 but was discharged and the accused persons were convicted under s. 304/107, this was
held to be wrong. Section 221(2) of CrPC can be invoked only in cases of cognate offences and not distinct
ones. Ramesh Chandra Mondal v. State of W.B., 1991 Cr LJ 2520Cal .
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evidence in the case. The act of abetment attributed to an accused is not to be viewed or
tested in isolation.97
It is humbly submitted that the law regarding offence of abetment to commit suicide is clear.
A person can be said to instigate another when he incites or otherwise encourages another,
directly or indirectly, to commit suicide98. The word instigate means to goad or urge
forward or provoke, incite, urge or encourage to do an act.99
It is respectfully submitted that the Supreme Court upheld conviction under section 306 of
Indian Penal Code when the accused by his acts produced an atmosphere which forced the
deceased to commit suicide.100
The Supreme Court in Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State held that Each person's suicidability
pattern is different from the other. Each person has his own idea of self-esteem and selfrespect. Therefore, it is impossible to lay down any strait-jacket formula in dealing with such
cases. Each case has to be decided on the basis of its own facts and circumstances.101
Abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in
doing a thing. Without a positive act on the part of the accused to instigate or aid in
committing suicide, conviction cannot be sustained.102 In a noted case, deceased committed
suicide by hanging himself because of alleged illicit relationship between his wife and the
accused. Accused took the wife of deceased away from house of her brother and kept her
with him for 4 days. There is definitely a proximity and nexus between the conduct and
behaviour of accused and wife of deceased with that of suicide committed by the deceased.103
Mere harassment of wife by husband due to differences per se does not attract Section 306
read with Section 107, IPC.104
97
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It also requires an active act or direct act which led the deceased to commit suicide seeing no
option and that act must have been intended to push the deceased into such a position that he
committed suicide.105
In Didigam Bikshapathi v. State of A.P.106 mental harassment and pressure put on the
deceased were held to be amounting to instigation to commit suicide.
In Brij Lal v. Prem Chand107, where the deceased stated in despair that she had enough of
torment and that she preferred death to living, the acts of the accused later on were held to be
instigation.
In Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi)108, Supreme Court re-iterated the
legal position laid down in its earlier three judge bench judgment in the case of Ramesh
Kumar v. State of Chhattisgarh, 35 and held that where the accused by his acts or continued
course of conduct creates such circumstances that the deceased was left with no other option
except to commit suicide, an instigation may be inferred. In order to prove that the accused
abetted commission of suicide by a person, it has to be established that:(i) the accused kept on irritating or annoying the deceased by words, deeds or wilful omission
or conduct which may even be a wilful silence until the deceased reacted or pushed or forced
the deceased by his deeds, words or wilful omission or conduct to make the deceased move
forward more quickly in a forward direction; and
(ii) that the accused had the intention to provoke urge or encourage the deceased to commit
suicide while acting in the manner noted above. Undoubtedly, presence of mens rea is the
necessary concomitant of instigation.109
Reflecting all of the above, it is clear that the accused instigated the deceased to commit
suicide. The constant acts by the accused led the deceased into a state of frustration and
depression. They kept quarrelling and one day the accused finally declared that if things are
not sorted out, then, it is better for both of them to get separated and to move on in life. The
105
S. S. Chheena v. Vijay Kumar Mahajan and Another, 2010 (12) SCC 190 : 2010 AIR SCW 4938
Didigam Bikshapathi v. State of A.P. AIR 2008 SC 527; Prema Rao v. Yadla Rao AIR 2003 SC 11.
107
Brij Lal v. Prem Chand AIR 1989 SC 1661.
108
2009 (16) SCC 605 : AIR 2010 SC 1446
109
State of Madhya Pradesh v. Shrideen Chhatri Prasad Suryawanshi, 2012 CrLJ 2106(MP) ; Jetha Ram v.
State of Rajasthan, 2012 CrLJ 2459(Raj) ; Kailash Baburao Pandit v. State of Maharashtra, 2011 CrLJ
4044(Bom).
106
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accused also compelled the deceased to abort and even refused to marry her. The night
before the suicide, Pooja visited the apartment which led the deceased to doubt the accused
more. All these instances by the accused instigated the deceased to commit suicide.
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The unborn child in the womb must not be destroyed unless the destruction of that child is for
purpose of preserving the yet more precious life of the mother.111
Good faith by itself is not enough. It has to be good faith for the purpose of saving the life of
the mother or the child and not otherwise.
A woman had pregnancy of 24 weeks out of illicit relations and a doctor administered an
injection for determination of the pregnancy but the woman died the next day without
miscarriage. It was held that the act of the doctor amounted to 'voluntarily causing
miscarriage' within the meaning of section 312 read with section 511, as the doctor was
presumed to know the possible effects of the medicine.59 Deceased, an unmarried girl was
pregnant from accused, she died while causing mis-carriage due to perforation of uterus
following abortion. It is a clear case that accused was an instrumental in causing the woman
to miscarry and obviously it was not done in good faith for purpose of saving life of
deceased. Miscarriage was with a view to wipe out evidence of deceased being pregnant.
Accused liable to be convicted under Sections 312, 315, 316 and 201 of I.P.C. 60
It is submitted that the accused compelled the deceased for abortion. The doctors have
confirmed that the deceased had gone for abortion before her demise. Therefore, the accused
is guilty under S.312 of IPC.
110
111
S 312 IPC
R vs Bourne (1938) 3 All ER 615
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The burden is on the prosecution to prove that the procuring of the miscarriage was not
necessary to save life.112There was no danger to the deceased life but the accused forced her
to abort. Therefore, the accused is guilty.
Whoever, except in the case provided for by section 334, voluntarily causes hurt, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or
with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
Where accused caused simple injuries to victim and not grievous injuries still accused are
guilty for offence under section 323.113 Therefore in the current case, accused must be held
guilty for causing hurt.
112
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PRAYER
Wherefore in light of the issues raised, arguments advanced and authorities cited, it is humbly
and respectfully submitted that this Honourable Court may be pleased to:
1. Convict the accused for muder under Section 306 of IPC
2. Convict the accused for abetment of suicide under Section 306 of IPC
3. Convict the accused for causing miscarriage and voluntarily causing hurt under
Sections 312 and 323 respectively.
And pass any other order that this Honourable Court may deem fit in the interests of
justice, equity and good conscience.
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