The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on a petition against an order that quashed the FIR against nine individuals, including Praful Khoda Patel, Administrator of the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, for allegedly helping in suicide of former Lok Sabha MP Mohan Delkar in 2021.
The Bombay High Court on September 8, 2022 cancelled the case against nine individuals in the case. The FIR was filed following the death of Delkar, a seven-time MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, whose body was recovered in a Mumbai hotel in 2021.
His purported suicide letter described harassment and intimidation, which triggered police action against several individuals, including senior bureaucrats and political leaders.
A Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran bench reserved its verdict on Monday after listening to senior lawyer Meenakshi Arora, who appeared for Abhinav Delkar, son of deceased MP, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the state government and senior attorney Mahesh Jethmalani on behalf of some accused.
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During the hearing, the bench had a thorough debate on whether the material before it, including the 30-page suicide note of the deceased MP, could hold good charges under Section 306 of IPC (abetment of suicide).
"The man had time to sit down and think about it and compose 30 pages. Can we say it (the suicide) was in the heat of the moment?" the CJI questioned.
He explained personal reactions to harassment or stress can vary.
"While a sensitive person might take the extreme step of suicide, someone with a hardened heart might not," the CJI added.
Arora explained Delkar's state of mind at the time of the incident was due to a deep feeling of public humiliation. He was upset because he thought his reputation had been tarnished. See what he has written to his wife and children… his family name meant a lot to him," she added.
"The law doesn't change with shifting narratives. The decision of the high court to quash the FIR is proper on facts," Mehta said.
He used references such as one written by CJI Gavai when he was serving in the Bombay High Court.
Senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for a few of the accused, asserted, "There is no mentioning of the alleged extortion of ₹24 crore either in the suicide note or anywhere else in the record. The allegation does not stand scrutiny." The bench responded that if the extortion charges were not presented before the high court they could be non-admissible even now.
Was this argument presented in the high court?" the CJI inquired, and Arora said she would verify.
During the reservation of the verdict, the bench directed the lawyers for the parties to submit their written submissions by August 8. The high court on September 8, 2022, held it to be a fit case to quash the FIR to "prevent abuse of law" against the accused.
It also pointed out that the FIR contents and the mention of reference in the incident were "short" to establish any "positive act" on the part of the accused individuals to help in committing suicide by Delkar.
Delkar, 58-year-old seven-term MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found dead in a hotel room at Marine Drive in south Mumbai on February 22, 2021.
Patel and eight others were arrested by the Mumbai police in March 2021 on abetment of Delkar's suicide and criminal intimidation charges on a complaint filed by the late MP's son Abhinav.
The MP reportedly took his life by suicide because of the harassment of the accused individuals. They wanted to take control of the schools he operated and deter him from contesting elections.
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