HITESHBHAI RAMESHBHAI SOLANKI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of the present appeals under'Section 14-A(2)'of the Scheduled Castes and'Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short, the 'Act, 1989')., the appellants - original accused challenge the order dated 8.2.2021 passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Court No.18, City Sessions Court, Ahmedabad in Criminal Misc. Application No.851 of 2021 and order dated 3.2.2021 passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Court No.18, City Sessions Court, Ahmedabad in Criminal Misc. Application No.811 of 2021 whereby, the learned Sessions Judge refused to grant anticipatory bail under'Section 438'of the Code of Criminal Procedure to the appellants - original accused in connection with the F.I.R. being C.R. No.11191039210197 of 2021 registered with Sabarmati Police Station for the offence punishable under'Sections 306,'506(2)'114'of the Indian Penal Code and under sections 3(2)(v), 3(2)(va) of the Atrocities Act.

(2.) Heard learned advocates appearing for the respective parties and perused the police papers supplied by learned APP and more particularly, suicide note allegedly written by the deceased. Upon perusal of the suicide note, it appears that no any active role is attributed to the appellants so as to infer that the deceased was driven to commit suicide on account of physical and mental torture to the deceased. No any past antecedent is registered against the appellants. The analysis and scrutiny of police papers, as it is, does not disclose with unqualified clarity to come to conclusive finding at threshold the appellants' unassailable finding of culpability under'section 306'of the IPC. The materials on record do not indicate, prima facie, any act of cruelty or harassment, mental or physical, so as to persistently/continuously provoke the deceased to take extreme step with no other option. No such persistent or consistent appellants' conduct, which requires culpability, is found in the police papers, more particularly, from the statement of the near and dear to the deceased. No doubt, the deceased died due to unnatural death. To attract'section 306, there has to be clear mens rea to commit an offence and active and direct role leading the deceased to commit suicide. Similarly, there is no allegation in the FIR that the incident occurred on account of the deceased belonged to the SC/ST caste and thus, there will not be any bar to grant relief u/s 438'of the Code'of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in view of amended provisions of section 18A of the SC/ST Act, 1989. Therefore, present appeals deserve consideration.

(3.) In the result, the present appeals are allowed. The Impugned order dated 8.2.2021 passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Court No.18, City Sessions Court, Ahmedabad in Criminal Misc. Application No.851 of 2021 and order dated 3.2.2021 passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Court No.18, City Sessions Court, Ahmedabad in Criminal Misc. Application No.811 of 2021 are hereby quashed and set aside. The appellants are ordered to be released on bail, in the event of arrest, in connection with FIR registered as C.R. No.11191039210197 of 2021 with Sabarmati Police Station on executing bond of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) each with one surety of like amount to the satisfaction of the Trial Court and subject to the conditions that the appellants shall:-