New Delhi, Oct. 8: The Supreme Court has held that the breakdown of a relationship or refusal to marry, by itself, cannot justify prosecution for abetment of suicide merely because the other partner subsequently dies by suicide.
A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran made the observation while quashing criminal proceedings against six accused, including the deceased woman’s partner, his parents, sister and others, in a case from Telangana.
The court said there was no material to indicate that the accused had intended to push the woman towards suicide or knew that refusal to marry would lead to such a consequence. It observed that individuals may respond differently to the end of a relationship and that every such case cannot automatically be treated as abetment.
According to the prosecution, the woman and the first accused, who had known each other since childhood, were in a consensual relationship and had lived together for about three months.
Although marriage had initially been contemplated, the accused later declined to marry her, allegedly following opposition from his family and others.
The prosecution alleged that the woman was deeply distressed over the refusal and that events following a confrontation with the accused and his family culminated in her death.
Both the trial court and the Telangana High Court had earlier declined to quash the criminal proceedings.
The Supreme Court, however, held that even if the allegations were accepted in their entirety, they did not disclose any act of instigation or intentional conduct necessary to attract the offence of abetment under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.
The bench said that, at the highest, the material indicated a refusal to marry followed by the woman’s suicide, which by itself was insufficient to constitute abetment.
The criminal proceedings against all six accused were accordingly quashed.
Pramod kumar is a Senior Journalist, Covering Supreem Court of India
