Did a 17-Year-Old Shooting Trainee Really Die by Suicide With a Rifle? SC Questions Claim
Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan, Madhya Pradesh
The Supreme Court has raised serious questions over a prosecution claim that a man had taken his own life by shooting himself in the chest with a rifle, directing the State to clarify whether the investigating agency had properly examined the possibility of homicide.
Taking note of the High Court’s decision to grant anticipatory bail to the accused under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (abetment of suicide), the Bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan observed that the very manner of the alleged suicide required closer scrutiny.
“Whether a person would be able to use a rifle to shoot himself on the chest needs examination,” the Bench remarked, signalling that the cause of death may not be as straightforward as initially suggested.
In an order passed on September 1, the Bench directed the State to file a detailed affidavit within two weeks. The affidavit must specify whether all angles of the case; including the possibility of murder, were investigated by the authorities.
The Court further directed that the affidavit be accompanied by the post-mortem (autopsy) report of the deceased as well as all material collected during the investigation, with particular emphasis on the seizure details and the length of the rifle allegedly used. These details, the Court said, would be crucial in assessing the plausibility of the suicide claim.
The case will now be listed for further hearing on September 15, 2025, when the Court will examine the State’s affidavit and the supporting material.
The father of a 17-year-old national shooting trainee from Bhopal, who died by suicide in December 2024, has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court order granting anticipatory bail to the prime accused, senior student Divyansh Singh Thakur.
The Special Leave Petition, filed under Article 136 of the Constitution, assails the High Court’s January 24, 2025 order, which allowed Thakur’s plea under Section 482 BNSS in relation to Crime No. 05/2025 registered at Ratibad Police Station, Bhopal.
The petitioner contends that the High Court’s order was arbitrary, overlooked crucial evidence, and effectively trivialised the suicide of a minor.
According to the petition filed through AoR Sumeer Sodhi the deceased was a meritorious trainee at the National Shooting Academy, Bhopal. He was allegedly subjected to persistent ragging and humiliation by Thakur and other seniors, often treated like a “personal servant.”
Matters escalated in November 2024 when Thakur accused him of stealing Rs. 40,000 from his car. The petition states that the boy was beaten, forced to confess under duress, and his phone was misused to fabricate incriminating messages.
On December 1, 2024, the boy reportedly sent a suicide note to a friend, naming Thakur, the warden, and four others as responsible. Despite the father’s request to the academy not to issue his son a weapon, a firearm was provided, which the boy allegedly used to fatally shoot himself.
The petition highlights a month-long delay in registering the FIR, allegedly due to Thakur’s influential family ties.
An FIR was finally lodged on January 1, 2025, under Section 107 BNS (abetment of suicide). The petitioner argues that the High Court wrongly treated the deceased as an 18-year-old when he was only 17, stressing that abetment of a minor’s suicide attracts life imprisonment, unlike the lesser punishment in ordinary abetment cases.
Further, the plea underscores that Thakur remained absconding even after the FIR, raising concerns of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. The father through the SLP has urged the Apex Court to cancel the anticipatory bail and order custodial interrogation to ensure a fair trial.