NATIONAL TRIAL ADVOCACY TEAM CODE 7
COMPETION, 2024
NYAYANEETI
BEFORRE THE COURT OF SESSIONS
AT NAVGAON, MAHANAGAR
Cr No. ____/ 2024
STATE………………………………………………………………COMPLAINANT
VERSUS
MANAV & ORS……………………………………………………DEFENDANTS
UPON SUBMISSION TO THE HON’BLE SESSIONS JUDGE
MEMORANDUM ON BEHALF OF THE COMPLAINANT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Table of Contents………………………………………………………. ii
2. List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………iii
3. Index of authorities……………………………………………………...iv
4. Statement of Jurisdiction…………………………………………………v
5. Statement of Facts……………………………………………………….vi
6. Issues Raised…….…………………………………...………………...viii
7. Summary of arguments ………………………………………….……..ix
8. Advanced Arguments…………………………………………………..xi
9. Prayer……………………………………………………………………..
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AIR All India Report
HC HIGH COURT
SC SUPREME COURT
SCC SUPREME COURT CASES
Cri LJ/ Cr LJ CRIMINAL LAW JOURNAL
BNSS BHARTIYA NAGRIK SURAKSHA
SANHITA
BNS BHARTIYA NYAYA SANHITA
DW DEFENCE WITNESS
P&H PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH
COURT
SCJ SUPREME COURT JOURNAL
SEC SECTION
V. VERSUS
IPC INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860
CrPC CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
MHLJ MAHARASHTRA LAW JOURNAL
INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
CASES:
1. Prakash Babu versus state of Karnataka
2. Shanti versus state of Haryana
3. Shrimati Gian Kaur versus the State of Punjab 1996
4. Hikkarange Gowda v. State of Mysore, the second important feature of Section 34
5. Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi)
6. Ramesh Kumar v. the State of Chhattisgarh
Statues
1. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
2. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraka Sanhita
Books
1. Gaur, K. D. Textbook on the Indian Penal Code. Universal Law Publishers,
9th edition.
2. Pillai, PSA Criminal law. Lexis Nexis Publishers, 12th edition.
Journal
1. Indian Journal of Criminology Volume 48 (1) 2020
Websites
1. [Link]
2. [Link]
3. [Link]
4. [Link]
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
The Hon’ble Court has the jurisdiction to try the instant matter under section 177 read with
section 232 of the Bharatiya Nagarik SURAKSHA SANHITA.
Section 197:
“Ordinary place of inquiry and trial.—every offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and
tried by a Court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed.”
Read with Section 232:
Commitment of case to Court of Session when offence is triable exclusively by it. —When
in a case instituted on a police report or otherwise, the accused appears or is brought before the
Magistrate and it appears to the Magistrate that the offence is triable exclusively by shall
(a) commit, after complying with the provisions of section 207 or section 208, as the case
may be, the case to the Court of Session, and subject to the provisions of this Code
relating to bail, remand the accused to custody until such commitment has been made;
(b) subject to the provisions of this Code relating to bail, remand the accused to custody
during, and until the conclusion of, the trial;
(c) send to that Court the record of the case and the documents and articles, if any, which
are to be produced in evidence;
(d) notify the Public Prosecutor of the commitment of the case to the Court of Session.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
[Link] was a clerk in J.D. Secondary and Higher Secondary College, Navgaon.
2. Priyanka died due to Cancer in 2019, they had two sons Pawan and Aakash.
3. Manav met Daya in 2022 via a common relative.
4. Daya was 46 and lived with her parents in Ghazbagh, Uttarnagari.
5. She also had a previous marriage with Mr Sudesh until 2022.
6. From her first marriage, she had a daughter, Ms. Khushi.
7. By the end of 2022, Daya informed her parents about her wish to marry Manav.
8. on 3rd May 2023, Daya and Manav’s marriage was solemnized.
9. After marriage, Daya lived with Manav in Navgaon while her daughter Khushi lived with
her uncle (Daya’s brother) in Ghazbagh for her studies.
10. Daya took time to adjusted to the family of Manav, drastic change in her behaviour. Before
marriage, she appeared happy and joyous but after marriage, she became very silent, stayed
alone and whenever asked about her first marriage, she never disclosed the reason of their
separation and seemed traumatised.
12. Pawan and Akash saw Daya as a property rights rival and did not consider her their mother.
13. Due to harassment by the Manav, Daya went to Ghazbagh and expressed her intention not
to return to her husband. However, Mr Ajay and others tried to solve their internal family
dispute and asked Manav to give assurance of proper behaviour with Daya after which Daya
returned to navgaon. 14. Manav demanded a certain amount for the education of his sons from
Daya.
15. After Daya conveyed it to Ajay, Ajay after having a conversation with Manav transferred
11,000/- rupees by UPI to him on 23rd November 2023.
16. Thereafter he gave some amount to Manav in cash of which Ajay has no proof.
17. In April 2024 Khushi visited her mother and saw her suffer, one day she saw Manav beating
Daya. She was scared to inform her uncle Ajay about the sufferings of her mother.
18. she captured the image of the brutal marks of injury on her mother’s neck and sent it to him
via an electronic mode.
19. In May 2024 Manav along with Daya went to Gazbagh for a marriage ceremony of the
maternal side of Daya where he picked quarrels with Ajay and others alleging improper
arrangement
20. After the aforesaid incident, ill-treatment with the Daya had increased. P 1.27.06.2024,
Pawan and Akash quarrelled with Daya for the entire night
21. In state of anger asked her to leave the home or leave the world.
22. On 28.06.2024 Pawan, who was at Puran Nagar, quarrelled with the deceased on a phone
call and threatened her with dire consequences if Akash suffered because of her.
23. After the phone call with Pawan, Daya had a phone call with Ajay at 11:22 a.m. Ajay found
her in a very depressed state and she asked him to leave her on her own and ended the call.
24. At 2:38 p.m., Manav called Ajay and told him that Daya was suffering from an ailment and
was admitted to I.C.U. in the hospital of Dr. Subodh Shastri.
25. Ajay and his parents left for Navgaon in the night. On 29.06.2024, Ajay reached the hospital
at 8:00 a.m. and found that Daya was not in a position to speak. She died on 01.07.2024. F.I.R.
was registered on 03.07.2024 by Mr Ajay.
26. Manav, Pawan and Akash were arrested on 05.08.2024 and since then, they have been in
the police custody
ISSUES FOR ADJUDICATION
1. Whether Mrs Daya was subject to cruelty and harassment under section 85 of BNS by
her husband and his children.
2. Whether the accused was involved in abetment of suicide of the victim under section
108
3. Whether the accused and his family had a common intention to abet the victims suicide
under sec3(5) of the BNS and subjected due to dowry causing her death under section
80 of BNS.
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS
1. Whether Mrs Daya was subject to cruelty, harassment and domestic violence
under section 85 of BNS by her husband and his children?
Cruelty and harassment towards a woman are very serious issues that unfortunately exist in
today's society around the globe cruelty can manifest in various forms including physical
emotional verbal and psychological abuse physical cruelty is the most genuine form of cruelty
and harassment one can put on a woman as well as the abuse that they go through cannot only
be harmful to them physically but also can affect their mental peace and there emotional state
causing them depression and anxiety making them difficult to do day to day task going to the
extent of someone committing suicide or the other hand harassment refers to unwanted or
unwelcome bad behaviour that creates a very intimidating and offensive environment for
women examples of cruelty and harassment towards women include domestic violence which
happens in once home where a woman is subjected to her husband and cruelty in her own house
by her own people sexual assault stocking etc have severe and long lasting effects on the
physical and mental condition of a woman as we see in this case that the frequent harassment
and cruelty face by Mrs Daya let to her being very emotionally unstable and also her mental
state being very bad where it is mentioned that she used to stay silent and she would not talk
must your family as well as not talk much to anyone in her own house she remained quiet and
alone for a very long time with led her to being in a depressed state and other committing
suicide it is important for us to address all these issues regarding cruelty her husband towards
women by promoting awareness and by making the accused pay his part in committing the
crime everyone deserves to be and also deserves a safe and secure environment to live in which
unfortunately was not received by Mrs Daya in her own house. Whether the accused was
involved in abetment of suicide of the victim under section 108. She was also subjected to
serious domestic violence. Domestic violence is not only physical violence but also the
emotional and mental state of a person that happens due to someone’s ill treatment and cruelty.
2. Whether the accused was involved in abetment of suicide of the victim under
section 108?
Abetment of suicide refers to the act of encouraging or instigating someone to commit suicide
this can be called as a very inhumane act when you being a human yourself if abetting someone
else to end their life. A life that is there right and everyone has a right to live someone who is
instigating a person to take the own life should be severely punished as is taking away the right
for them to live in this world this offence can take various forms said I providing someone with
the knowledge of taking their own life or pressure in them into an environment and leading
them to take a big step as so committing suicide the making such an environment for them
which consists of them feeling low and not being able to cope up with their current situation
creating such a situation that leads to rest you side it is the criminal of fans and abetting suicide
is a serious offence which include imprisonment here Mrs Daya’s husband Manav and his
children instigated Mrs Daya and created such an environment for her in her own house that
led to her committing suicide she was subjected to verbal abuse and domestic violence in her
own house leading for her to stay silent and stain depression ultimately resulting in her taking
her own life hence awaiting someone suicide is a serious and should be punished.
3. Whether the accused and his family had a common intention to abet the victims
suicide under sec3(5) of the BNS?
Sometimes common intentions can be created on the spot if the gap is not too long. The primary
aspect is a pre-planned strategy to carry out the plan for the intended result. Each of such
individuals shall be held accountable for an act performed in pursuit of a shared intention as if
the conduct were performed by a single individual.
In this case Manav made an excuse stating that he needed money for his son's education and
also kept Mrs Mangal sutra as a mortgage took money from his brother not only throw online
but also through cash which has of no record and made Daya’s life in that house so intolerable
that she decided to commits suicide she went through abuse by her husband and ultimately it
was her death these deaths are a form of domestic violence and illegal and punishable offences.
While everyone had a common intention in the house to make Mrs Daya suffer including her
husband and his two children Pawan and Aakash who frequently kept harassing her and
verbally abusing her not only that but occurs also physically assaulted her all three of them had
a common intention of making a feel so intolerable that she decides to commit suicide hence
abetting the same
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED
1. Whether Mrs Daya was subject to cruelty, harassment and domestic violence under
section 85 of BNS by her husband and his children?
Section 85 of BNS as a law that sequels to safeguard married women from harassment by the
husband or his relatives like in this case his children. It was bought to stop cruelty the offence
committed under the section 85 is cognizable, non-compoundable and non bailable. In KV
Prakash Babu versus state of Karnataka1 the supreme court has clarified that 498A of IPC as it
was before it became section 85 of BNS is associated with mental cruelty that can drive a
woman to commit suicide and his dependent upon the conduct of the person here depending
upon the conduct of Manav and his two children Pawan and Aakash towards they are treating
her with cruelty and harassing a continuously as seen by the eye witness miss Khushi as to how
her mother the victim Mrs Daya would look after them cook for them and they would still call
her there made and would torture as the dad has just got her in their house to do their work they
also saw her as their property rights arrival and did not consider her their mother. So did Manav
as he would illtreat for every little inconvenience even in the case of Shanti versus state of
Haryana2 there was a demand for dowry and consequent harassment of the disease cruelly
within the meaning of section 498A by the disease mother-in-law wife of the brother of the
disease husband the death also occurred within 7 years of marriage. Similarly, Mrs Daya was
subject to cruelty I have husband and his children who repeatedly quarrelled with her spoke to
her rudely and also physically abuse her all the started taking place within 4 months of a
marriage as in the case the two ladies were convicted and punish similarly Manav two children
must be convicted and punished under section 498 affecting her to cruelty in harassment from
time to time. Domestic violence is a very serious and white spread issue that affects many
individuals especially women around the world women have been facing domestic violence in
their own houses since a very long time it is a very in human think to do as every person has
the right to live the life happily and peacefully when someone invades that privacy by subject
in them to physical abuse it is not only going against the nature but also a very serious crime
committed against the women it includes various forms of abuse which is physically
emotionally psychologically financial control and verbal threat here misses Daya went through
physical violence which was seen by the eye witness miss Khushi her daughter and also there
1
Prakash Babu versus state of Karnataka, AIR 2016 SC 5430
2
Shanti versus state of Haryana, 1991 AIR 1226
is prove of IT in evidence which shows clearly that the victim was subjected to physical
violence severely not once but many times as it is also stated by doctor where it was clearly
mentioned that the injurious which happened to the victim was not only new but also old that
proves that physical violence has been happening since a very long time and it was not
something new to the victim not only that but she was also going through a emotional and
psychological abuse where she was ill-treated everyday by her husband and her two children
verbally abuse and they called her there made who had just come to do their work in their house
hence all these issues amount to domestic violence will chat ultimately became the reason of
her suicide hence Manav a betting it by playing a very important role in making her feel
vulnerable and causing the domestic violence on her these victims of domestic violence offer
and your fear trauma and isolate themselves as we saw in the witness report that she use to not
talk a lot and would remain silent it made her isolate from everyone hence used to not speak to
a family much it is very crucial as all these things let to her committing suicide.
in this case, Manav and all the other accused collectively showed cruelty towards Daya, where
in the first instance, the postmortem report tells us that she had not eaten anything in the night
as well as in the morning. There were zero carbohydrates present in the body. There might be
chances that she did not even got food to eat, she might have been denied access to enough
water as well because her body was also not fully hydrated. This cruelty did not stop there after
A huge quarrel took place with Mr. Ajay and Manav for petty reason, living in the same house
with manav became impossible for daya. The constant harassment and disrespect that she felt
from the sons of Man made her take this huge step where she ate unknown substance, and even
after that Manav was so normal with that, just within one day after the deceased death, he went
to office for his work as usual. This shows the inhumanity he had within himself and how his
plan for abated, suicide became successful. When Khushi asked her mother, that did something
wrong or suspicious happen, the nod on the face of their every truth.
[Link] the accused was involved in abetment of suicide of the victim under section
108?
Section 108 if any person commit suicide whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall
be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which makes 10 to 10 years
and shall also be liable to fine. It clearly states that if a person commit suicide, any person that
instigates or conspires for behaviour to take place in any way should be held accountable and
can be sentence to 10 years. Manav has instigated but also assisted in Mrs Daya committing
suicide he created such an environment for the victim that the victim felt like taking such a big
step the environment around her was made so intolerable that the victim wanted to end her life
rather than for her to have endured it. He instigated it by making her feel so vulnerable that she
could die. Not only him but his children have also made of feel like her existence then matter
to them and that she can have the world and they would not care for her so his children Aakash
and Pawan also assisted in the victim’s suicide therefore leading to abetment. The series of acts
that may prove someone to be guilty may vary from use of force words conduct or will full
omission as appear in this case use of force was used by Manav as he would subject her to
domestic violence and ill-treated her there are proofs and eye witness who have seen Manav
subjected to domestic violence with her wife not only that by Manav son are cars also was
subjected to use of violence towards Mrs Daya. Use of words was also a mean issue in the
abetment of Mrs Daya suicide as you a subjected to frequent harassment and verbal abuse by
Manav and his family as in so unbearable abuse and use of words as to commit suicide
according to the ingredients of sec 108 BNS the victim must have committed suicide that is
should have ended his or her own life as in Daya had taken and unknown substance province
at committed suicide the person accused under section 108 of BNS have abetted and instigated
as stated in the above paragraph Mr Manav has abetted and instigated the suicide with
subjecting Mrs Daya to severe cruelty harassment and domestic violence the caused must have
been directly involved with the occurrence of the crime and Mr Manav was Mrs Daya’s
husband was directly involved with the abetment of Mrs Daya suicide by subjecting her to
cruelty harassment and domestic violence.
In the case of Shrimati Gian Kaur v. The State of Punjab 3, the court held at section 306 is
constitutionally valid the court also rule that anyone who aids and abets another person in
committing a crime will be held liable and penalised with rigorous imprisonment for up to 10
years
In Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) 4, the Supreme Court reiterated the
legal jurisprudence that was laid down in its earlier judgment in the case of Ramesh Kumar v.
the State of Chhattisgarh5 and held that where the accused by his acts or continuous course of
behaviour creates such circumstances that the deceased person was left with no other substitute
3
Shrimati Gian Kaur v. The State of Punjab, 1996 AIR 946 1996 SCC
4
Chitresh Kumar Chopra v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), 2009 16 SCC 605RA
5
Ramesh Kumar v. the State of Chhattisgarh, 2001 9SCC 618
except the option to commit suicide, an instigation may be indirect. In order to prove that the
accused abetted commission of suicide by a person, it has to be recognized that:
The accused kept on frustrating or annoying the deceased by words, deeds or wilful omission
or conduct which may even be an unruly stillness until the deceased responded or pushed or
forced the deceased by his deeds, words or wilful oversight or behaviour to make the deceased
move forward more rapidly in a forward direction; and
That the accused had the purpose of aggravating urge or persuading the deceased to commit
suicide while acting in the way noted above, undoubtedly, mens rea is a necessary element of
instigation.
[Link] the accused and his family had a common intention to abet the victim’s suicide
under sec3(5) of the BNS
Section 3(5) of BNS establishes joint criminal liability when two or more individuals act in
furtherance of a common intention. Key elements of section 3(5) are common intention,
involvement of multiple persons, and the commission of a criminal act.
Undersection 35 of BNS joint criminal liability of two or more individuals was involved in this
case where Manav and his two children regularly harassed the victim and a post her to severe
harassment on cruelty from their side not only did his elders and frequently call her and abused
her on the phone call but also Akash his younger son was subjected to physical violence and
also verbal abuse daily it was also seen by the witness Khushi who is the daughter of the victim.
She notices that her mother was treated as a made in her own house and the same was told to
her again and again through verbal abuse and physical violence by her husband as well as his
son. They had a common intention to break her down and to make her feel vulnerable
amounting her to taking her own life through committing suicide hence a common intention
was present in the following case which led to the abetment of suicide.
Hikkarange Gowda v. State of Mysore6, the second important feature of Section 34 (common
intention) is the element of participation. To participate means to take part, and part in an act
may be taken by doing something which advances the common cause or achievement or which
helps the common cause.
6
Hikkarange Gowda v. State of Mysore, AIR 1956 SC731
The accused member of the family had a common intention against the new family member,
Daya. Both the children never excepted her as a part of the family and their new mother. They
never respected her in that sense, moreover they saw her as a rival to their property. And on the
same time, even Man used to demand money constantly from her and neglected to her child
Khushi, which she promised to take care after the marriage, and just cared about his own sons.
he also kept her Mangal Sutra on mortgage for money. His shows his clear intention that he
cared more about money and his own children rather than Daya and her child Khushi. The
repeated harassment resulted in the deceased being abruptly very silent and traumatised. She
even tries to inform her family, who again and again repeatedly tried in various ways to request
Manav and his family to behave properly and let Daya live with peace. But everything came to
ground zero when Khushi saw her mom getting beaten up by his dad brutally with those
previous injury marks on her neck, and things did not stop the common intention of them to
get her out of the house, summed up when Pawan threatened Daya with dire consequences and
Akash asked her to leave the world or the Home. She did not have any other choice, the
constant, domestic violence, cruelty, and harassment done to her made her victim of this
common intention to abatement of suicide
Prayer
WHEREFORE, IN THE LIGHT OF ISSUES RAISED, AUTHORITIES CITED AND
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED, IT IS PRAYED THAT THIS HON'BLE COURT MAY
GRACIOUSLY PLEASED TO:
1) Declare that the accused are guilty of all the above stated charges
2) Declare that the accused compensate to the victim’s daughter
3) Pass any such order as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in the interest of justice.
All of which is most humbly and respectfully Submitted.
AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS THE COMPLAINANT AS IN DUTY BOUND
SHALL EVER PRAY.
Date: / / 2024
Place: Navgaon, Mahanagar Sd
Counsel for
Complainant
WITNESS LIST
[Link] Kushi
[Link]. Ajay Kumar
3. Mr. Amit IO