Nafisa Joseph (Archive Image/TOI)
MUMBAI: Bombay high court has refused to discharge businessman Gautam Khanduja of abetment to the June 29, 2004 suicide of his fiancée, model and 1997 Miss India Universe winner, Nafisa Joseph (then 26). He dismissed Khanduja’s plea challenging the sessions court’s Aug 24, 2005 order refusing to discharge him under IPC Section 306 (abetment to suicide) Thereafter she went to her bedroom, locked the room and ended her life by hanging herself to the ceiling fan with a dupatta. Following the magistrate’s order issuing process, Khanduja (then 33) moved HC. On Nov 29, 2005 HC stayed the trial.
“Suffice it to observe that there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the applicant and there are circumstances requiring the trial to proceed,” said Justice Milind Sathaye in the Sept 10 verdict. After the FIR was registered, the chargesheet was filed. He also noted that Khanduja and Nafisa knew each other’s past, including her two broken relationships, “thereby making her sensitive and vulnerable to one more such incident. “Whether the applicant’s refusal to marry and non-supply of divorce papers proved to be the ‘last straw on the back of the camel’ that broke it, will have to be decided at the time of trial,’’ he added.
He continued an earlier interim stay on trial for six weeks on Mundargi’s request.
Legal Arguments in High-Profile Suicide Case
In a recent legal proceeding, senior advocate Ashok Mundargi, representing Khanduja, contended that the chargesheet failed to demonstrate any acts of instigation, threat, coercion, humiliation, or intentional assistance from his client. Prosecutor Manisha Tidke countered that a marriage had been arranged, with invitation cards already distributed. She argued that Khanduja’s refusal to marry the woman led her to experience significant humiliation, resulting in her tragic decision to take her own life due to fears of disrepute for herself and her family.
Justice Sathaye said while considering discharge application, HC cannot go into the merits to assess whether the accused can be convicted. “What is required to be considered is whether a prima facie case has been made out or not and whether the accused is required to be tried or not. A mini trial is certainly not permitted,” he added.