SC upholds Bombay HC order quashing FIR in MP Mohan Delkar suicide case
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria pronounced the order, stating: 'High Court order confirmed and dismissed the SLP.' The verdict had been reserved on August 4.
The Court was hearing the plea filed by Abhinav Mohan Delkar, son of the deceased MP, challenging the Bombay High Court order that quashed the FIR against Dadra and Nagar Haveli Administrator Praful Khoda Patel, Collector Sandeep Kumar Singh, Police Superintendent Sharad Darade, and other officials accused of abetting Delkar's suicide.
On September 8, 2022, a Bombay High Court bench of Justices Prasanna B. Varale and Shrikant D. Kulkarni had allowed a batch of writ petitions filed by the accused, holding that the allegations were unsustainable.
Delkar, a seven-time MP, was found dead on February 22, 2021, at a hotel in Mumbai. His son lodged an FIR accusing the officials of harassment, humiliation, and conspiracy to force his father to commit suicide, invoking Sections 306 (abetment to suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), 389 (putting person in fear of accusation of offence), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The FIR alleged that Delkar faced systematic harassment to seize control of the college he managed and to prevent him from contesting future elections, besides being publicly humiliated as he belonged to a Scheduled Tribe.
However, the High Court found no substantive evidence to support these claims. It held that the allegations were based largely on Delkar's perception of being ill-treated.
The Court observed that no material showed attempts by the accused to take over Delkar's educational institution, and in fact, Delkar had successfully contested elections as an independent candidate.
Quoting from its order, the High Court had said: 'If both these alleged objects are not substantially established and it is only in the form of certain allegations and an impression of the deceased, then asking the Petitioners to undergo the rigors of criminal prosecution is nothing but an abuse of process of law.'
The Court also ruled that the FIR lacked concrete evidence of conspiracy under Section 120-B IPC, noting that there were only bare allegations without incidents showing the accused acted in concert. Relying on precedents including Madan Mohan Singh v. State of Gujarat and State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, the Court emphasized that a positive act is necessary to constitute 'abetment' under Section 306 IPC, which was absent in this case.
Accordingly, the Bombay High Court quashed the FIR against nine accused persons, a decision now affirmed by the Supreme Court.
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