K.V.SANTHOSH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has now been arrayed as the sole accused in the instant Crime No.339/2019 of Kannur Pariyaram Medical College Police Station, which has now been registered for offence punishable under Sec.306 of the Indian Penal Code (abetment to commit suicide).

(2.) The petitioner has been arrested in this case on 25.09.2019 and after his remand, has been under detention since then. The nature of the allegations disclosed against the petitioner in the impugned criminal proceedings in this case has been dealt with by this Court in paragraph Nos. 4 to 6 of Annexure-I order dated 04.09.2019 in B.A.No.5538/2019 which reads as follows : "The Investigating Officer in this case has filed a statement dated 3.9.2019 through the learned Prosecutor. From the Sec.161 Cr.P.C. Statement given by K.A.Nikhil, the younger son of the deceased lady, it is revealed that on 19.6.2019 when he reached back home from college at 3 pm, he found that his mother was in a mental disturbance and he had taken his mother's mobile phone to search in his Facebook wall, and in the midst of that at about 3.23 pm on that day a Whatsapp message had come from Mobile Cell bearing No."9961421397" and opened the message and he had seen naked and obscene pictures of a male. When he enquired about it to his mother, she cried and replied that the sender has been used to send this like pictures several times, and whenever she given warning to him to stop sending, he threatened her by saying that he had saved screen shots of the Whatsapp wall which shows the "delivered" and "seen" buttons indicating that she enjoyed all these pictures for a long time and the same will be published among others, and that if she denied to open these Whatsapp messages, then he used to remind her and threaten to open through voice calls from the Mobile Cell bearing No."8075003279". While she tried to stop him from these activities by saying that she would commit suicide, the sender told her that "go and commit". The abovesaid 2nd son had requested her to reveal the identity of the sender and she told that it was one "Santhosh, an employee of Madai Bank, Edakkom Branch". Thereupon he had gone out from house to Edakkom Branch of Madai Co-operative Bank to ask Santhosh about these matters, but when Nikhil had reached there the said Santhosh had left the Bank. Thereafter Nikhil had immediately come home along with his father Ajikumar, and there at 3.50 pm he had found his mother hanging on a rope attached to the pipe appurtenant to the roof sheet in the work area attached to the kitchen in the house, and he had immediately called out other persons in the locality and she was taken to three hospitals and ultimately she succumbed to death on 23.6.2019. Her husband Ajikumar and elder son Akhil have also given statements in accordance with version given by the younger son Nikhil, it is pointed out by the Prosecution. 5. Further it is stated in the abovesaid statement that from the investigation conducted so far with the help of Cyber Cell of, Police, it has been found that the owner of both the above referred Mobile cell numbers is "Santhosh K.V., S/o.Narayanan K.V., 42/19, Kannarath Valappil, Keezhara, Cherukunnu", who is none other than the petitioner herein. On the request, the Cyber Cell has also provided CD including photo of Whatsapp wall showing five messages came from the cell of Santhosh were deleted by him at 3.23 pm on 19.6.2019 just before the incident of hanging. From the abovesaid aspects, it is urged by learned Prosecutor on the basis of instructions of the Investigating Officer that it is manifestly clear that the petitioner has involvement in the abetment and instigation of commission of suicide by the deceased lady. 6. Further it is stated in the abovesaid statement by the Investigating Officer that pursuant to the preliminary enquiry conducted by bank officials of Madai Co-operative Bank, Edakkom Branch, against the petitioner who is an employee of the said Bank, they have suspended him from service on account of his involvement in the above incident. Further that the Mobile Cell used by the deceased lady was sent to Regional Forensic Science Lab, Kannur, for retrieving obscene picture messages send by petitioner accused to deceased lady through Whatsapp. Accordingly it is submitted by the Investigating Officer that the investigation so far conducted including the statements of about 24 witnesses and cross checking all the call details of the deceased lady, it is revealed that the petitioner accused who is an employee of the said Bank used to frequently send obscene Whatsapp messages to her despite a clear stand taken by her that he should stop it, and that he had taken screen shots of such messages and intimidated her that he would show these messages to others, and that he used to threaten her and compel through phone to engage in Whatsapp chatting, and that this clearly indicates that it is due to the unbearable mental agony of such repeated action done by the petitioner accused that she was constrained to take the extreme step of ending her life which led to her attempt of commit suicide on 19.6.2019 at 3.50 pm by hanging, and her death in the hospital on 23.6.2019. Hence it is urged by the Prosecutor that it is on this basis that reports have been duly submitted by the competent criminal court concerned for deleting the provision of Sec.174 of the Cr.P.C. and to add the offence under Sec.306 of the IPC, and to add the name of the petitioner herein as accused in the accused array of Anx.I FIR. Further it is pointed out by the learned Prosecutor on the basis of instructions of the Investigating Officer that the mobile cells used by accused person have been seized and some more witnesses have to be questioned and recorded, and that on the basis of these materials, learned Prosecutor would urge that, if the investigation has to be proceed fruitfully, it is highly imperative that the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is obtained."

(3.) The counsel for the petitioner would point out that there are no materials to connect the petitioner with the instant crime. Further that, the petitioner has already suffered detention for the last 40 days, his continued incarceration may not be necessary and this Court may order to release him on regular bail subject to stringent conditions, that may be imposed by this Court appropriately.