The Supreme Court of India has ruled that disapproving a marriage does not amount to abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The judgment came as the court quashed a chargesheet against a woman accused of abetting the suicide of another woman who was allegedly in love with her son.
The bench, comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, observed that even if all the evidence on record, including the chargesheet and witness statements, were taken as correct, there was not an “iota of evidence” against the accused. The court emphasized that disapproval of a relationship or marriage, without direct instigation, does not constitute abetment to suicide.
Deceased Took Extreme Step Due to Disparaging Remarks, Pressure: Family
The case revolved around allegations that the accused woman had opposed the marriage between her son and the deceased, who later died by suicide. The deceased’s family claimed that the accused had made disparaging remarks and pressured her, leading to the extreme step. However, the Supreme Court found no evidence to support these allegations.
The court noted that the accused woman and her family had not exerted any direct pressure on the deceased to end her life. Instead, it was revealed that the deceased’s own family was unhappy with the relationship.
Key Observations by the Court
During the hearing of the case, the bench of the courts stated
We find that the acts of the appellant are too remote and indirect to constitute the offence under section 306, IPC. There is no allegation against the appellant of a nature that the deceased was left with no alternative but to commit the unfortunate act of suicide,
Further the bench of court also said that
discerned from the record that the appellant, along with her family, did not attempt to put any pressure on the deceased to end the relationship between her and the appellant’s son
In fact, it was the deceased’s family that was unhappy with the relationship. Even if the appellant expressed her disapproval towards the marriage of Babu Das and the deceased, it does not rise to the level of direct or indirect instigation of abetting suicide.
Further, a remark such as asking the deceased to not be alive if she cannot live without marrying her lover will also not gain the status of abetment. There needs to be a positive act that creates an environment where the deceased is pushed to the edge in order to sustain the charge of section 306, IPC.
