SREEJITH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This application is filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

(2.) The applicant herein is the accused in Crime No.128 of 2018 of the Tanur Police Station. On 07.03.2018 it was reported before the Police by one Sreedharan that his relative, a girl aged 18 years, took her own life by hanging herself. A crime was initially registered under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. In the course of investigation, a suicide note written by the girl was seized from her house. In the said note, she has written that she was in deep love with the applicant herein and that he was responsible for her death. It appears that the girl was traumatized as the applicant did not reciprocate her love towards him and ignored her. The witnesses who were questioned are alleged to have disclosed that the parties were in a relationship and that the applicant used to contact her. When he stopped contacting the girl for reasons best known to him, she was driven to depression and took her own life. On the basis of the said disclosure, Section 174 of the Cr.P.C. was deleted and Section 306 of the IPC was added.

(3.) The learned counsel appearing for the applicant submitted that no material was collected by the prosecution to connect the applicant with the crime. In the suicide note penned by the deceased she re-iterates that she has the most affinity towards the applicant. However, in the very same statement, she states that the applicant is responsible for her suicide. According to the learned counsel, the investigation conducted till date will not reveal any wrongdoing on the part of the applicant. He points out that there has to be a clear mens rea to commit an offence and that there ought to be an active or direct act leading the deceased to commit suicide. The learned counsel refers to the cases reported in Sanju @ Sanjay Singh Sengar v. State of M.P. [2002 SCC (Crl) 1141], Dr.Krishnadas.P (Dr.) (Adv) v. State of Kerala and Another (2017 (2) KLT 579) and Gurcharan Singh v. State of Punjab [2016(12) SCALE 414] to buttress his submissions.