State of Maharashtra vs Ram CRLA 557/07 04/02/20 [ JOSHI JJ ]

• Section 306 IPC Appeal against acquittal Abetment of suicide Allegation that due to cruelty and illegitimate relations of accused husband, victim committed suicide Nothing stated by victim about such relations to her parents Allegations about cruelty general in nature No handwriting expert’s opinion obtained to show letter given by victim to her parent was in fact scribed by her Neighbours turned hostile and not supported prosecution case Dowry demand also not established Victim was suffering from T. B. since 3-4 years Possibility of committing suicide by burning due to depression as she lost her three children consecutively not ruled out Prosecution has failed to point out any nexus between letter and death of deceased Prosecution has failed to prove that accused aided and abetted commission of suicide Acquittal order is affirmed Appeal by State dismissed.

34. A useful reference can be made of the case Sanju alias Sanjay Singh Sengar .v. State of M.P. reported in (2002) 5 SCC 371 wherein a quarrel took place between the appellant and the deceased. The appellant said to the deceased ‘to go and die” and two days thereafter the deceased committed suicide. She made a suicide note. The Hon’ble apex Court observed that “to go and die” itself does not constitute the ingredient of instigation. The word “instigate” denotes incitement or urging to do some drastic or inadvisable action or to stimulate or incite. It is further held that the presence of mens rea is the necessary concomitant for instigation.
35. In (2017) 1 SCC 433 in case of Gurcharan Singh v. State of Punjab, the Hon’ble apex Court has observed in para 21 as under :-
21. It is thus manifest that the offence punishable is one of abetment of the commission of suicide by any person, predicating existence of a live link or nexus between the two, abetment being the propelling causative factor. The basic ingredients of this provision are suicidal death and the abetment thereof. To constitute abetment, the intention and involvement of the accused to aid or instigate the commission of suicide is imperative. Any severance or absence of any of these constituents would militate against this indictment. Remoteness of the culpable acts or omissions rooted in the intention of the accused to actualise the suicide would fall short as well of the offence of abetment essential to attract the punitive mandate of Section 306 IPC. Contiguity, continuity, culpability and complicity of theindictable acts or omission are the concomitant indices of abetment. Section 306 IPC, thus criminalises the sustained incitement for suicide.”

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