On Tuesday, a Delhi court acquitted former Haryana Minister Gopal Goyal Kanda and one other individual in the case of abetment of the suicide of Geetika Sharma. The court emphasized that the possibility of Geetika Sharma committing suicide due to reasons other than the accused\’s actions cannot be ruled out.
The court also acquitted Gopal Kanda\’s associate, Aruna Chadha, of all charges, including abetment of suicide, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, and forgery.
Geetika Sharma, a former air hostess with Gopal Kanda\’s MLDR airlines, who later became a director of one of his companies, was found dead on August 5, 2012, at her residence in northwest Delhi.
In her suicide note dated August 4, she mentioned \”harassment\” by Gopal Kanda and Aruna Chadha as the reason for ending her life. Tragically, Geetika Sharma\’s mother also committed suicide six months after her daughter\’s death.
The court ruling highlighted that the prosecution failed to prove the offence under Section 306 (Abetment of suicide) read with 120-B IPC, as they couldn\’t establish that the accused persons conspired to create circumstances that led to Geetika Sharma\’s suicide.
Additionally, the court noted that Geetika Sharma and accused Aruna Chadha were close friends who shared personal secrets. The court also acknowledged that Geetika Sharma had visited a doctor\’s clinic in March 2012, referred by Aruna Chadha, for the purpose of abortion, which suggests that Aruna might have known about Geetika\’s relationships.
The court further pointed out that it cannot be ruled out that Aruna Chadha and Gopal Goyal Kanda might have disclosed this fact to Geetika Sharma\’s mother during telephonic conversations, leading to a quarrel between Geetika and her mother before the tragic incident.
The court highlighted that a sane and prudent person would not maintain a social relationship or accept benefits from someone who causes stress and tension in their life. It concluded that Gopal Kanda\’s actions of appointing Geetika Sharma as a director, providing her with privileges like a BMW car, sponsoring her MBA course, and accompanying her to Singapore, cannot be seen as contributing to her decision to commit suicide.
The court ordered Gopal Kanda to submit ₹1 lakh in personal bond and remain present if the police decide to file an appeal against his acquittal.
