Patna High Court
Sushila DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL GRANTED
- Bench
- JITENDRA KUMAR
Holding
The petitioners did not prima facie satisfy the statutory ingredients of abetment of suicide under Section 108 B.N.S., and therefore anticipatory bail was granted.
Summary
The petitioners sought anticipatory bail in a case where the son of an informant had allegedly committed suicide, allegedly after threats from the petitioners concerning dowry demands. The suicide note claimed the deceased was harassed by his wife’s family, who threatened legal action if he did not pay money. The petitioners contended they were falsely implicated and that no act of instigation, conspiracy, or intentional aid – the ingredients of abetment under Section 108 B.N.S. read with Section 45 – was present. The court examined the statutory definition of abetment and relevant Supreme Court precedents (Rajesh v. State of Haryana and Madan Mohan Singh v. State of Gujarat). Finding no prima facie evidence of abetment, the court allowed the petition and directed that the petitioners be released on bail with specified conditions. The order is limited to the bail matter and does not affect the trial court’s further proceedings.
Issues considered
- Whether the facts alleged constitute abetment of suicide under Section 108 of the B.N.S., read with Section 45.
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in view of the alleged allegations of dowry‑related harassment and suicide.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S., 2023 — s. 108, 45, 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- abetment of suicide
- Section 108 B.N.S.
- dowry harassment
- suicide note
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.56754 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-207 Year-2025 Thana- BARH District- Patna
======================================================
1. Sushila Devi W/O Lakshmi Sah @ Laxmi Saha Village- Judanwanpur, P.S.-
Judanwanpur, District- Vaishali
2. Mantu Sao @ Mantu Kumar S/O Lakshmi Sah @ Laxmi Saha Village-
Judanwanpur, P.S.- Judanwanpur, District- Vaishali
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
with
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No. 61353 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-207 Year-2025 Thana- BARH District- Patna
======================================================
Neetu Kumari W/O Late Sujit Kumar, D/O Lakshmi Sah @ Laxmi Saha R/O
Village- Dayachak, Naya Tola, Ward No. 25, P.S- Barh, District- Patna, At
present residing at Village- Judanwanpur, P.S- Judanwanpur, Distt.- Vaishali.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
(In Criminal Miscellaneous No. 56754 of 2025)
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Rajesh Kumar Mishra, Advocate
Mr. Basant Kumar, Advocate
Mr. Aditya Pandey, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Upendra Kumar, APP
(in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 61353 of 2025)
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Rajesh Kumar Mishra, Advocate
Mr. Basant Kumar, Advocate
Mr. Aditya Pandey, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Ganesh Prasad Singh, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE JITENDRA KUMAR
ORAL ORDER
8 02-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned
APP for the State.
2. The present petition has been filed on behalf of the
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petitioners, apprehending their arrest, in connection with Barh
P.S. Case No. 207 of 2025 dated 17.03.2025 registered for the
offences punishable under Sections 108 and 3(5) of B.N.S.,
2023.
3. As per allegation, the son of the informant
committed suicide at night at 1:00 AM in his own house on
17.03.2025. The father of the deceased came to know about the
suicide when two friends of his son came to his house saying
that the deceased has sent one message on mobile that he is
committing suicide due to being fed up with harassment caused
by his wife, mother-in-law and son-in-law. When the father of
the informant along with friends came to the room of the
deceased, they found the room locked and when they entered
into the room, he was hanging from the fan. The police was
called on dial number 112. The police came and door was
opened and the son of the informant was taken down from the
fan and taken to the hospital where he was declared dead. In the
room, one suicide note of the deceased-son was found. As per
the suicide note, the income of the deceased was about Rs.
9,000/- to 10,000/- per month and he used to pay his wife as
expense money, but she always used to complain that he is not
paying any money and her mother and brother, who are
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petitioners herein, used to harass him saying that if he does not
pay to his wife as she is asking for, they would file one dowry
demand case against him and his family members and they will
spend their life in jail. By such threat, he was fed up and
commits suicide.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the
Petitioners are innocent and have falsely been implicated in this
case. He further submits that the wife of the deceased was living
with her parents at her maike and no such threat was given to
the deceased by the petitioners. He further submits that as per
the allegation made in the written report and material on record,
no case is made out of abetment of suicide as defined under
Section 108 B.N.S. read with Section 45 of B.N.S. He refers to
and relies upon the judgment of Rajesh Vs. State of Haryana
as reported in (2020) 15 SCC 359 and Madan Mohan Singh
Vs. State of Gujarat and Anr. as reported in (2010) 8 SCC
628.
5. However, learned APP for the State vehemently
opposes the prayer of the Petitioners for bail submitting that it is
a clear case of abetment of suicide and hence, the petitioners are
not entitled to get privilege of anticipatory bail at this stage.
6. I considered the submission advanced by both the
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parties and perused the materials on record.
7. Section 108 B.N.S. provides for punishment for
abetment of suicide. It reads as follows :
“108. 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.”
8. Section 45 B.N.S. defines what is abetment of a
thing. It reads as follows :
“45. Abetment of a thing. - A person abets the doing of a
thing, who: -
(a) instigates any person to do that thing; or
(b) engages with one or more other person or persons in
any conspiracy for the doing of that thing, if an act or
illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that
conspiracy, and in order to the doing of that thing; or
(c) intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the
doing of that thing.”
9. In Rajesh Case (supra), there was suicide note in
which the deceased had stated that the false allegation of
demand of dowry was made against him and a panchayat was
also conducted in which there was an attempt to assault him.
There was continuous threat from his father-in-law, brother-in-
law and sister-in-law that his family members would also be
implicated in a criminal case and unable to withstand the
harassment, the deceased took the extreme steps of committing
suicide. Here, Hon’ble Supreme Court after referring to relevant
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case laws held that the appellant could not be held guilty of
committing suicide by the deceased, because there was neither
provocation, nor encouragement by the appellant to the
deceased to commit an act of suicide.
10. In Madan Mohan Singh Case (supra), the
deceased had left suicide note in which he had stated that his
Senior Officer is responsible for his commission of suicide who
has not cooperated as human being in his functioning. Here
again, Hon’ble Supreme Court held that intention of the accused
to aid or to instigate or to abet the deceased to commit suicide is
a must for this particular offence under Section 306 IPC. But
there is nothing in the suicide note or FIR which constitutes the
ingredients of the offence punishable under Section 306 IPC.
11. As such, it transpires that to attract the offence
under Section 108 BNS, there must be one of the following
three ingredients : (i) instigating the deceased to commit suicide,
(ii) entering into conspiracy with one or more persons for
commission of the suicide, if an act or illegal omission takes
place in pursuance of that conspiracy or (iii) there is intentional
aids by any act or illegal omission in commission of the suicide.
But in the allegation as emerging from the FIR and suicide note,
there is no fulfillment of any of the aforesaid ingredients of the
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offence of abetment of suicide punishable under Section 108
BNS, because neither is there any instigation on the part of the
petitioners to commit suicide, nor is there any aiding to the
deceased to committing suicide, nor is there any conspiracy for
the sake of commission of the suicide of the deceased. Though
the extreme steps taken by the deceased is unfortunate, but
petitioners can not be prima facie held to be guilty of
commitment of abetment of suicide.
12. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances,
this petition is allowed, directing the petitioners above-named,
to be enlarged on bail, in the event of their arrest or surrender
before the court below within a period of eight weeks from the
date of receipt / production of a copy of this order, on their
furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs. 10,000 /- (Ten
Thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount each to the
satisfaction of learned concerned Court below, in connection
with Barh P.S. Case No. 207 of 2025, subject to the conditions
as laid down under Section 482 (2) B.N.S.S., 2023 and on the
following conditions:
(i) In case, it is brought to the notice of the court
below that the petitioners have any criminal antecedents other
than the disclosed one, learned court below shall cancel the bail
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bonds of the petitioners after hearing them and getting satisfied
that the petitioners have concealed their criminal antecedents
despite their knowledge of the same.
(ii) In case, it is brought to the notice of the court
below that statement regarding previous bail petition is wrong,
learned court below shall cancel the bail bonds of the
petitioners.
13. However, the observations made in this order will
have no bearing on the further proceeding before the learned
Trial Court. This observation is made only for the disposal of
the present petition.
(Jitendra Kumar, J)
shoaib/-
U T
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