Delhi court sets aside order summoning Kanda in case of abetment of suicide of Geetika’s mother

New Delhi, October 26

A Delhi court on Monday set aside an order issuing summons to Haryana MLA Gopal Goyal Kanda and his former associate as accused for allegedly abetting the suicide of former flight attendant Geetika Sharma’s mother.

Additional Sessions Judge Kiran Gupta set aside a magisterial court order dated March 18, 2019, issuing summons against Kanda and Aruna Chadha for abetting the suicide of Sharma’s mother, Anuradha.

In its order, the sessions court noted that “it is evident the negative final report was filed by the police after investigation and after examining the family members”.

The Delhi Police had filed the cancellation report in the case dealing with the suicide case of Anuradha.  Anuradha had committed suicide on February 15, 2013, and a case of abetment of suicide was registered at police station Bharat Nagar. 

Kanda is also facing trial in separate abetment-to-suicide case of Geetika. An additional chief metropolitan magistrate in March 2019 took cognisance of the offence against Kanda and Chadha while rejecting the cancellation report.

Both of them had challenged the order of the magistrate court.

“The picture which emerges from a cumulative reading and assessment of these two suicide notes is this—presumably because of death of her daughter who allegedly committed suicide due to certain acts of the petitioners, caused distress and the deceased felt disappointed, frustrated and depressed,” the sessions court said.

“She was overtaken by a feeling of shortcoming which she attributed to herself. She was overcome by a forceful feeling generating within her that her death would only bring justice to the death by suicide of her daughter Geetika,” it added.

The court noted that admittedly, both the accused were in custody prior to six months from the date and time of the incident and were released on bail after around one year of the present incident.

“In the entire record file there is not even a single complaint or report regarding any threats extended by the petitioners or any person on their behalf. Even from the CDR of the deceased, nothing has been found that she was receiving calls or was threatened by the petitioners or any person on their behalf,” the court said.

“The present one is not a case where the accused/petitioners had by their acts or omission or by a continued course of conduct created such circumstances that the deceased was left with no other option except to commit suicide in which case an instigation may have been inferred,” it added. PTI