PRABHAKAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present Application has been filed initially, for quashing the First information Report (for short 'the FIR') vide Crime No.434 of 2022 dtd. 14/10/2022, registered with Belwandi Police Station, Taluka-Shrigonda, District-Ahmednagar and by way of amendment, for quashing the proceedings in Charge-sheet No.31 of 2023 dtd. 15/2/2023 pending before the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Shrigonda, District-Ahmednagar and Sessions Case, if any, arising out of the same, for the offence punishable under Sec. 306 read with Sec. 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sec. 39 of the Maharashtra Money Lending (Regulation) Act (for short 'the Maharashtra Money Lending Act').

(2.) Heard learned Advocate Mr. Deshmukh for the applicant, learned APP Mr. Kotecha for respondent No.1 and learned Advocate Mr. Karpe for respondent No.2.

(3.) It has been vehemently submitted on behalf of the applicant that FIR has been lodged by the father of the deceased. In the FIR it is stated that respondent No.2 ' father has land at Raigavhan. He along with his two sons, namely Jitendra and Ravindra, run a bakery at Karegaon, Taluka Shirur, District-Pune. For his business purpose, when he was in need of money, he decided to sale 50 Gunthas of land situated at Raigavhan, Taluka-Shrigonda, District-Ahmednagar. He had entered into an agreement with one Nasir Abdul Shaikh on 15/12/2020. The said transaction was settled with the mediation by one Sampat Shankar Mapari and Prabhakar Bhausaheb Thombare i.e. the present applicant. Earnest amount of Rs.2,30,000.00 was given in cash on the date of agreement to sell. It was decided to complete the transaction within a period of two months thereafter by giving remaining amount of Rs.18,00,000.00. The informant in his FIR then says when he himself, his wife and both the sons were in the bakery on 13/10/2022, son Ravindra (now deceased) told them that he would go to Raigavhan and look-after the house and the land. He left Karegaon around 4.00 p.m. Elder son Jitendra has given a WhatsApp call around 5.00 p.m. to deceased Ravindra whereupon Ravindra told that he has reached the house and he is showing the land to proposed customer as the land is to be sold. After a while when son Jitendra had given call again to deceased Ravindra, then Ravindra was not picking up the phone. Therefore, Jitendra made phone call to his cousin Aniket and asked to see as to where Ravindra is, he should go to the house and see what has happened. Then Aniket went to the house of the informant at Raigavhan and noticed that Ravindra has committed suicide. He told the said fact to the informant. Therefore, informant along with other family members came to Raigavhan around 7.45 p.m. They saw that Ravindra had hanged himself to an iron angle in the house. Jitendra then gave intimation about the same to Belwandi Police Station. At the time of drawing inquest panchnama, suicide note was found in the left side pocket of the pant of the deceased Ravindra, wherein he had blamed one Anil Diwate from whom he had taken amount of Rs.5,00,000.00 as hand-loan on interest and in spite of payment of entire amount, still said Diwate was insisting upon the payment and it was also stated that Ravindra became fed up with the harassment given by Sampat Shankar Mapari and Vishnu Thombare (whose complete name was not known to the deceased) and further stated that these were the persons who were responsible for the suicide. In the FIR then it is stated by respondent No.2 that in fact present applicant was the mediator in the transaction and not Vishnu Thombare. Vishnu Thombare was never involved in any transaction and has not given harassment to them.