Woman Disapproving Son's Relationship Not A Ground For Suicide Abetment: Supreme Court

Mother's Disapproval Of Son’s Love Affair Not Instigation For Girl’s Suicide: SC

On Tuesday, the SC ruled that a woman's disapproval of her son's relationship with a girl cannot be considered as direct or indirect instigation for abetment of suicide. A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma explained that even a statement like advising the deceased not to live if she couldn’t marry her lover does not amount to abetment. The Court emphasised that for a charge under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to stand, there must be a clear, positive act that creates an environment pushing the deceased to the point of suicide, as reported by Live Law.

As per a report by Live Law, the SC overturned the High Court's decision, which had upheld the charges against the appellant. The Court observed that the appellant’s actions—refusing to allow her son to marry the deceased and telling her to end her life if she couldn’t live without him—were too distant and indirect to constitute an offence under Section 306 of the IPC.

The Court explained that for a charge under Section 306 IPC to apply, in conjunction with Section 107 IPC, there must be (i) direct or indirect instigation, (ii) near the suicide, and (iii) clear intent (mens rea) to abet the suicide.

The Court noted that none of these elements were present in the case. It clarified that the appellant, along with her family, did not pressure the deceased to end her relationship. In fact, it was the deceased's family that opposed the relationship. While the appellant may have expressed disapproval of the marriage, this did not constitute direct or indirect instigation of suicide.

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Details About The Case

As per Live Law, the appellant, Smt Laxmi Das, was accused of encouraging the suicide of her son's lover, the deceased. The deceased had been in a romantic relationship with her son, Babu Das, for about three to four years. However, the deceased's parents did not approve of the relationship and attempted to stop it, while Smt Laxmi Das allegedly supported the affair. The deceased died after jumping in front of a train, and the post-mortem confirmed that the injuries resulted from the impact.

Initially, the trial court rejected a request by Smt. Laxmi Das to be cleared of the charges. However, before the SC, she argued that she did not provoke the deceased to commit suicide. Even if she disapproved of the marriage, she asserted that it shouldn't be considered a crime under the law. The state counsel disagreed and argued that the High Court had made the right decision to reject her plea.

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The SC eventually ruled that the actions of Smt Laxmi Das did not qualify as abetment of suicide, and therefore, the charges against her were quashed.

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Credits: Freepik/Supreme Court