1 2025:CGHC:10618 AFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, BILASPUR CRA No. 2084 of 2024 1 - Afsar Ali S/o Late Ali Baksh Aged About 42 Years R/o Haldibadi, Bhaisa Dafai, Police Station Chirmiri, District- Koriya, Now Manendragarh Chirmiri Bharatpur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Sujit Kumar Dutta S/o Sapan Dutta Aged About 29 Years R/o Kamalpur, Silfili, Near Radha Govind Temple, District- Surajpur, Chhattisgarh. 3 - Damodar Das @ Chotu S/o Late Shri Santram Aged About 33 Years R/o Ward No.15, Heergeer Dafai, Haldibadi, Chirmiri Police Station Chirmiri, District Koriya Now District Manendragarh Chirmiri Bharatpur, Chhattisgarh. ---- Appellants Versus State of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Chirmiri, District Koriya Now District Manendragarh Chirmiri Bharatpur, Chhattisgarh. ---- Respondent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Appellant : Mr. Akash Verma, Advocate For Respondent-State : Mr. Karan Kumar Bahrani, PL. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hon'ble Shri Arvind Kumar Verma, Judge Judgment on Board 04.03.2025 2 1. This criminal appeal has been preferred by appellant against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 03.10.2024, passed in Session Case No.38/2016 by which the learned Session Judge, Chirmiri, Distt -Koriya, (CG), whereby appellant stands convicted and sentence as under: Conviction Sentence Under Section 201/511 of the IPC. Appellant No.1 : Imprisonment for 109 days & fine of Rs.1,000/-, in case of non-payment of fine, additional Ririgorous Imprisonment for 01 month. Appellant No.2 :Imprisonment for 41 days and fine of Rs. 1,000/-, in case of non-payment of fine, additional RI for 1 month. Appellant No.3 : Imprisonment for 12 Days and Fine of Rs. 1,000/-, in case of non-payment of fine, additional RI for 1 month. 2. The prosecution case, in brief, is this that Pinky @ Salma (deceased), who was working in Grand News, Haldibadi, Chirmiri has committed suicide in the room on 16.12.2015 by hanging herself with her dupatta. Based upon information/report, the Police registered the Merg No.52/2015, conducted the investigation and, thereafter, registered the case against the accused (Ashish Gharami) vide crime no. 437/2015 for the offence punishable under Section 306 of Indian Penal Code as it is alleged that accused Ashish Gharani who was also working with the deceased in the said Grand News Channel has 3 humiliated the deceased stating that she was a girl of bad character in front of the other employees of the Channel. After completion of investigation, charge-sheet was filed against the accused Ashish Gharami @ Babon before the jurisdictional criminal court for the offence punishable under Section 306 of Indian Penal Code. 3. Subsequently, a supplementary charge-sheet was filed against the present appellants along with other accused persons namely (Dr. RR Gajbhiye, Abdul Salim Khan and Jaisingh Raghav @ Jacky) and based upon which, trial Court framed the charges against the present appellants for offence under Sections 306/34, 120 B, 201 of IPC. 4. Prosecution in order to prove its case examined total 26 witnesses. Statement of appellants (accused) were also recorded under Section 313 of CrPC in which they denied all incriminating evidence appearing against them, pleaded innocence and false implication. 5. After hearing learned counsel for the parties and appreciating the evidence available on record, the trial Court vide impugned judgment convicted and sentenced the accused/appellants in the manner as described in Para-1 of this judgment, however, acquitted the appellants for offence under Section 306/34 of IPC. Hence this appeal. 6. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the impugned 4 judgment is per se illegal and contrary to the evidence available on record. Trial Court failed to appreciate that the allegation against the present appellants was of abetment of suicide of deceased and to destroy evidence, both the offences being related to each other, it was illegal to convict the present appellants for the offence punishable under Section 201/511 of IPC, while acquitting them from the substantive offence of Section 306 of IPC. Trial Court ignored the fact that the present appellants were initially supporting the case of prosecution and were cited as prosecution witnesses in the earlier charge-sheet, which was filed against the accused Ashish Gharami.. There are various material contradictions and omissions in the case of the prosecution. There is no evidence/material produced by the prosecution which show that present appellants have involved in the criminal conspiracy with the Dr. R.R. Gajbhiye and tried to destroy the evidence for protecting themselves from punishment for abetment of suicide of deceased. The prosecution has failed to prove that Dr. R.R. Gajbhiye did not conduct the postmortem of the deceased in order to protect the present appellants. There are material contradictions and omissions in the deposition of prosecution witnesses. As such, the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence awarded to the appellants deserves to be set-aside. 7. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State supporting the impugned judgment and submits that there are specific evidence available which shows that present appellants are involved in the 5 the criminal conspiracy for destroying the evidence for protecting themselves from punishment for abetment of suicide of deceased and, therefore, the present appeal is liable to be dismissed. 8. Heard learned counsel for the respective parties and perused the recorded placed on record. 9. It is pertinent to mention here that trial court has already acquitted the accused persons in the main offence under section 306/34 of the Indian Penal Code. When the accused persons have been acquitted in the main offence that is the abatement of suicide then the accused cannot be convicted under Section 201/511 of the Indian Penal Code. In other words, the mere secreting of a dead body without first proving that the corpse secreted was the “corpus delicti” of a abatement of suicide case then there is no offence made out under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code. 10. In the result, the appeal is allowed and the impugned judgment dated 03.10.2024 (Annexure A-1) is hereby set aside. The appellants are acquitted of the charge under Section 201/511 of the IPC. 11. The record of the trial Court along with copy of this judgment be sent back immediately to the trial Court concerned for compliance and necessary action. Sd/- (Arvind Kumar Verma) J/- JUDGE