SAGAR RAJU @ RAJENDRA WAMANversusSTATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANR

                                924 ABA-2682-2026 =925 ABA-2686-2026.DOC
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          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
         ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 2682 OF 2026
Usha Raju Waman                                       …Applicant
            Vs.
1. State of Maharashtra                               …Respondents
2. Vikas Bhausaheb Shinde

                           AND
      ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 2686 OF 2026
Sagar Raju @ Rajendra Waman                 …Applicant
            Vs.
1. State of Maharashtra
2. Vikas Bhausaheb Shinde                             …Respondents


Mr. Ashok Shekade, for the Applicant.
Mrs. M.R. Tidke, APP for the Respondent-State in ABA-2682-2026.
Ms. Savita M. Yadav, APP for the Respondent-State in ABA-2686-
2026.


                       CORAM:      MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J.
                       DATE :      29th SEPTEMBER, 2026
P. C.:

1.       Heard Mr. Shekade, learned counsel appearing for the

Applicant and Mrs. Tidke and Ms. Yadav, learned APP for the State.



2.       The Applicant in Anticipatory Bail Application No. 2682 of

2026 is accused No.2 and Applicant in Anticipatory Bail

Application No. 2686 of 2026 is accused No. 3.               It is the

submission of learned counsel appearing for the Applicant that


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totally false case has been lodged. He submits that there was no

transaction whatsoever with the deceased and in fact transaction is

with the First Informant. He submits that the deceased is involved

in an offence under Section 376(1) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860

and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences

Act, 2012 being C.R. No. 131 of 2018 with Ambhora Police Station,

District Beed wherein charge-sheet has also been filed being case

No.108 of 2018. He submits that in fact the deceased sought

money from Accused No.1 who is the husband of the Applicant-

Usha Raju Waman and father of Applicant-Sagar Raju @ Rajendra

Waman and he has paid Rs.25,000/- on 14 th July, 2026, the very

day allegedly the Accused No.1 has threatened the Deceased.



3.    Mr. Shekade, learned counsel submits that in any case, even

as per the prosecution case, from the year 2022 to 14 th July 2026,

the accused were demanding refund of money which has been paid

to the Deceased for giving the same to the labourers for harvesting

of sugarcane and although the money has been paid by the

Deceased to those labourers, they had not come to do the work.

He submits that as per the settled legal position, there should be

proximity between the incident in question and the action of



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abetment. He submits that as the allegation is that for a period of

four years, the accused were demanding refund of said money

shows that there was no abetment.



4.    On the other hand, Mrs. Tidke and Ms. Yadav learned APP

submit that the offence is very serious as the Applicants and co-

accused were demanding money continuously and threatening the

deceased and the deceased died by suicide. Learned APP further

submit that there is a suicide note where the role of both the

Applicants have been mentioned. Both the learned APP submit

that on 14th July 2026, the accused No.1 has called the deceased

and told him either to refund the money or he should hang himself

and therefore the incident took place. Both the learned APP submit

that the offence is very serious where the custodial interrogation is

necessary.



5.    The prosecution case is set out in Criminal Bail Application

No. 391 of 2026 filed by the Applicant-Usha Raju Waman in

paragraph No.2, which reads as under :-


      “2.    In short, it is the case of prosecution that

      informant Vikas Bhausaheb Shinde is the brother of



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      deceased Houserao @ Gautam Bhausaheb Shinde.

      They belong to Hindu Mang Caste. Accused No.1 is

      husband of accused no.2 and accused no. 3 is their son.

      Since last 10 years informant, deceased and their

      family members were doing sugarcane cutting work

      under accused no.1 who is their Mukadam at Navhra

      Karkhana,    Shirur.   Deceased      fixed    sugarcutting

      labourers and the accused no.1 gave an amount of

      Rs.4,71,000/- to deceased for securing 11 labourers

      and also gave Rs.6,15,000/- for securing another group

      of labourers for cutting sugarcane. However, the said

      labourers did not turn for work and so the accused

      no.1 to 3 started demanding the aforesaid amount

      from deceased and harassed her. On 14.07.2026,

      accused no.1 threatened deceased on phone to give

      back his amount and abused and threatened him. Due

      to the harassment given by the accused nos. 1 to 3, on

      16.07.2026, the deceased committed suicide by

      hanging himself by a rope behind Raosaheb Pawar

      Ghodganga Sakhar Karkhana at Navhra, Shirur leaving

      behind suicide note in which it was mentioned that the


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      accused nos. 1 to 3 have harassed him for aforesaid

      money and so he is committing suicide. So, the

      informant lodged complaint and on the basis of said

      complaint, this crime came to be registered against

      accused persons for aforesaid offences. Apprehending

      arrest, the applicant/accused no.2 has moved present

      application for grant of anticipatory bail.”

                                          (Emphasis supplied)


6.    Even as per the prosecution case, the transaction is that

Accused No.1- Sagar Raju @ Rajendra Waman for securing

labourers for doing the work of harvesting sugarcane paid Rs.

4,71,000/- and Rs.6,15,000/- to the Deceased. However inspite of

said payment, the said labourers did not turn up for work. Thus,

the accused Nos. 1 to 3 started demanding the aforesaid amount

from the deceased. As per the prosecution case, this was being

done form the year 2022 to 2026. Even as per the prosecution

case, on 14th July 2026, the accused No.1 demanded the money

from the deceased and threatened him and also told him to hang

himself, if he fails to pay the money.




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7.    Thus, prima facie there is no allegation against the

Applicants, i.e., Accused Nos. 2 and 3 of giving threats to the

Deceased and in near proximity of the incident of suicide. As per

the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Abhinav Mohan

Delkar Versus The State of Maharashtra & Ors. 1, even if there is

allegation of constant harassment, continued over a long period; to

bring in the ingredients of Section 306 read with Section 107 of

the Indian Penal Code, there has to be a proximate prior act to

clearly find that the suicide was the direct consequence of such

continuous harassment, the last proximate incident having finally

driven the subject to the extreme act of taking one’s life.



8.    The observations in paragraph 27 of Abhinav Mohan Delkar

(supra) reads as under :-


      “27.   We have already seen that even a rebuke to “go,
      kill yourself”; often a rustic expression against distasteful
      conduct, cannot by itself be found to have the
      ingredients to charge an offence of abetment to suicide.
      There is no uniformity in how different individuals
      respond and react under pressure. Many stand up, some
      fight back, a few run away and certain people crumble


1     (2026) 6 SCC 233


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      and at times take the extreme step of suicide. To put the
      blame on the pressure imposed and the person
      responsible for it, at all times, without something more
      to clearly discern an intention, would not be the proper
      application of the penal provisions under Section 306.”

9.    Thus, what the Supreme Court has stated that “go, kill

yourself”, often a rustic expression against distasteful conduct,

cannot by itself be found to have the ingredients to charge an

offence of abetment to suicide. It has been held that abetment

involves a mental process of instigating or intentionally aiding

another person to do a particular thing. To bring a charge under

Section 306 of the IPC, the act of abetment would require the

positive act of instigating or intentionally aiding another person to

commit suicide. Without such mens rea on the part of the accused

person being apparent from the face of the record, a charge under

the aforesaid Section cannot be sustained. Abetment also requires

an active act, direct or indirect, on the part of the accused person

which left the deceased with no other option but to commit

suicide. Thus, on the touchstone of the above law, prima facie,

there is no material against the Applicants.




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10.     Although the F.I.R. is also registered under Section 3(2)(va)

of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act, 1989 (“SCST Act”), reading of the entire F.I.R. does

not show that any allegation is made therein of commission of any

offence under the SCST Act.           Therefore, the prohibition as

contained under Section 18A of the SCST is not applicable in the

present case.



11.     Accordingly, a case is made out for grant of Anticipatory Bail.

In view thereof, the following order is passed:-


                               ORDER

      (a)     In the event of arrest of the Applicant No.1-Usha

      Raju Waman and Applicant No.2-Sagar Raju @ Rajendra

      Waman in connection with C.R. No. 656 of 2026 registered

      with Shirur Police Station, Pune Rural, the Applicants are

      directed to be released on bail on their furnishing P.R. Bond

      in the sum of Rs.30,000/-, each, with one or two solvent

      sureties in the like amount.




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      (b)      The Applicants shall attend the concerned police

      station as and when called by the Investigating Officer and

      cooperate with further investigation.


      (c)      The Applicants shall furnish their cell phone

      numbers and residential addresses to the Investigating

      Officer and shall keep the same updated, in case of any

      change thereto.


      (e)      The Applicants shall not directly or indirectly make

      any inducement, threat, or promise to any person

      acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade such

      a person from disclosing the facts to the Court or to any

      Police personnel.


      (f)      The   Applicants      shall   not   tamper   with   the

      prosecution evidence and shall not contact or influence the

      Complainant or any witness in any manner.


12.     The    Anticipatory   Bail     Applications   are   disposed     of

accordingly.


                                               [MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J.]




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