Page No.# 1/5 GAHC010108282026 2026:GAU-AS:9153 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : Bail Appln./1422/2026 ROHITASH KUMAR SHARMA ALIAS ROHITASH KR SHARMA SON OF SRI BIRBALRAM SHARMA, RESIDENT OF P-SECTOR, NIRJULI, P.S. NIRJULI, DISTRICT- PAPUMPARE, ARUNACHAL PRADESH. VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, ASSAM. Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. D DAS SR. ADV, Y KHAUND,MR. K MOHAMMED,N R SURANA Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV KUMAR SHARMA ORDER 24.06.2026 1. Heard Mr. D. Das, learned Senior Advocate for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. M. P. Goswami, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State. 2. This application has been filed under Section 483 BNSS, seeking bail of the petitioner, namely, Rohitash Kumar Sharma @ Rohitash Kr. Sharma, who Page No.# 2/5 was arrested on 27.04.2026 in connection with Laluk P.S. Case No. 62/2026 under Sections 108 of BNS. 3. On 22.03.2026, the informant Khagen Saikia lodged an FIR before the Officer-in-Charge, Laluk P.S., inter alia stating that “The FIR has been lodged regarding the death of his son Bipul Saikia, who was an employee at a shop owned by the accused, Rohit Sharma, located in Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh. That on 19.03.2026 the accused had instructed Bipul Saikia to collect items for the shop and subsequently Bipul left for Arunachal Pradesh. On 19.03.2026 at 11AM, the accused called the complainant and alleged that Bipul had stolen some goods from the shop. Upon arriving in Nirjuli, the informant family discovered Bipul being severely beaten by several individuals and even, the assailants reportedly used a hot iron to burn Bipul's body and coerced his own family members into striking him. The accused person demanded Rs.20,00,000/-(Rupees Twenty Lakhs) threatened to kill Bipul if the sum was not paid. It is further alleged that the police of Nirjuli Police Station had intervened and amicably settled the matter on a sum of Rs.10,00,000/- and by paying an amount of Rs. 1,70,000/- (Rupees One Lakh Seventy Thousand) to the accused, he secured the release of his son i.e. deceased Bipul Saikia and assured payment of the remaining amount of Rs.8,30,000/- (Rupees Eight Lakhs Thirty Thousand) at a later stage. After bringing his son back from the custody of the accused, the accused continued to threaten him repeatedly. Unable to bear the mental pressure and trauma caused by such threats and the physical and mental torture inflicted upon him, his son committed suicide by hanging himself at their residence on 21/03/2026. Due to the continuous threats, physical assault, and mental torture inflicted by the accused and his associates, his son was compelled to take such an extreme step." Page No.# 3/5 On the strength of the aforesaid FIR the police officials of Laluk Police Station registered a case being Laluk P.S. Case No.62/2026, dated 22.03.2026 registered under Section- 108 of the BNS. 4. The petitioner was arrested on 27.04.2026 and after 2 days of police custody he was remanded to judicial custody on 30.04.2026 and has by now spent around 59 days in custody. In the meantime, the charge-sheet has already been submitted against the petitioner and another accused. 5. Mr. Das, learned Senior Counsel submits that the deceased, who was an employee of the petitioner, was found to have misappropriated huge sums of money from the shop of the petitioner, along with other employees. In this regard, the petitioner had lodged an FIR at Nirjuli Police Station, Arunachal Pradesh on 19.03.2026, whereafter the employees of the shop were called to the Police Station where they admitted their guilt. Further, the elder brother of the deceased undertook to pay an amount of Rs. 8,30,000/- at the Police Station and after making payment of Rs.1,70,000/- all the parties left the Police Station. 6. It is further submitted that the allegations of beating and using a hot iron rod to burn the body of the deceased are totally false. It is the further submission of learned Senior Counsel that the necessary ingredient of abetment to suicide is absent in the present case as the petitioner, even on the face of the allegations available in the FIR, cannot be said to have had any mens rea as far as the commission of suicide by the deceased is concerned, and no such act of instigating the deceased to commit suicide is discernible. 7. Therefore, the learned Counsel has referred to the decision of this Court in Sri Jitu Dutta Vs. The State of Assam 2026 Supreme (GAU) 80, Page No.# 4/5 wherein this Court had granted pre-arrest bail to the petitioner therein as mens rea as well as any incitement, direct or indirect, was absent in the said case, although a suicide note existed. 8. It is further submitted that in the present case no such suicide note is available and the petitioner herein stands on a much better footing and having spent nearly two months in jail and the investigation being over, further detention of the petitioner is not warranted. 9. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor with reference to the case diary, has submitted that there are sufficient incriminating material against the petitioner. 10. Upon appraisal of the case diary, it appears that though there are certain incriminating materials regarding the accused persons having assaulted the deceased, a perusal of the post-mortem report shows that no external injuries other than the ligature mark on the neck caused by suicidal hanging was found during post-mortem, although the deceased died shortly after the alleged incident of assault and burning by a hot rod which should have left burn marks on the body of the deceased. 11. In M. Mohan Vs .State reported in (2011) 3 SCC 626 the Apex Court that held as follows:- “45. The intention of the legislature and the ratio of the cases decided by this Court are clear that in order to convict a person under Section 306 IPC there has to be a clear mens rea to commit the offence. It also requires an active act or direct act which led the deceased to commit suicide seeing no option and this act must have been intended to push the deceased into such a position that he/she committed suicide." 12. Having regard to the above, and in the absence of any specific material indicating mens rea or active instigation to commit suicide, on the part of the petitioner and also having regard to the fact that the investigation is complete Page No.# 5/5 as well as the length of detention of the petitioner of about 59 days, further detention of the petitioner is not considered necessary. 13. Accordingly, the prayer for bail is allowed. 14. Having regard to the above, I am of the view that a case for grant of bail has been made out and accordingly, it is directed that the petitioner, Rohitash Kumar Sharma @ Rohitash Kr. Sharma, shall be released on bail of Rs. 50,000/- with two sureties of like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lakhimpur, on the following conditions. (i) The petitioner shall co-operate in the trial, if one commences, (ii) The petitioner shall not try to intimidate the witnesses 15. Accordingly, the bail petition is disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant