The Chhattisgarh High Court in its order dated December 07, 2023 stated that a girlfriend cannot be booked, if her boyfriend dies by suicide due to failure in love.
The High Court cited multiple examples concluding how a person cannot be held responsible if the deceased was weak or of frail mentality.
Case:
A man and a woman were involved in a romantic relationship for 8-years. However, the woman later broke up with her partner and got married to another man.
On January 23, 2023, the woman’s partner died by suicide leaving behind a two-page note accusing her and her brothers of threatening him to keep away. He held all three of them responsible for taking this extreme step.
Complaint Filed, Charges Framed
An official complaint was filed by the deceased partner’s uncle with the Rajnandgaon Police (Chhattisgarh) and the trio were arrested. On October 13, 2023, the District Court framed charges under:
- Section 306 (abetment to suicide)
- Section 34 (common intention)
…of the IPC.
Subsequently, the accused moved the High Court for relief.
Arguments by Prosecution
The prosecution presented statements given by the man’s friends, family members and relatives who stated that the accused girlfriend had taken a loan from the victim, did not return the amount, but instead broke up with him.
The prosecution also informed court that the victim was being threatened by accused girlfriend’s brothers.
Chhattisgarh High Court
A Single-judge bench of Justice Parth Prateem Sahu heard the case and concluded that a girlfriend cannot be booked if boyfriend dies by suicide. Justice Sahu was of the opinion that there was no prima facie material available on record to prosecute the woman and others.
The Judge cited multiple examples such as below and quoted:
If a lover commits suicide due to love failure, if a student commits suicide because of his poor performance in exams, a client commits suicide because his case is dismissed, the lady, examiner, lawyer respectively cannot be held to have abetted the commission of suicide.
For the wrong decision taken by a man of weak or frail mentality, another person cannot be blamed as having abetted his committing suicide.
The bench clearly stated that the man had expressed his desire to die by suicide and the reason was ‘betrayal in love, threats of dire consequences and false implication in a case.’ To this, the Court observed:
The deceased was under depression due to betrayal by applicant and as such he was compelled to take drastic step of committing suicide. However, these statements are not sufficient to conclude guilt, if any, of the applicants, firstly for the reason that version of all these witnesses is based on what the deceased told them.
Secondly, they have not stated that in their presence, the applicants instigated, conspired or provoked the deceased to commit suicide.
The High Court dismissed the mention of threats given by girlfriend’s brothers, terming them as ‘not so alarming’ that could have driven a normal person to end life. The HC said:
Most importantly, there is no mention when such threats were uttered, whether it was continuous of a single incident and whether it was much prior to the suicide or in close proximity when the suicide was committed.
Further, if the deceased had felt annoyed and threatened, he might have lodged complaint with the police but he did not.
Adding further, Justice Sahu said,
In simple words, there is nothing in suicide letter to even suggest that the applicants have made such an atmosphere around the deceased that there was no option left for him but to commit suicide.
Thus, the Chhattisgarh High Court quashed the charges of abetment to suicide against the accused girlfriend and her brothers.
Section 306 IPC: What Is Abetment to Suicide Law?
If any person commits suicide, the person found to have abetted the commission of suicide shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to a fine.
How Has Supreme Court Defined “Abetment”?
Through various judgments in the past, the apex court has laid down certain “essential ingredients” for an offence to qualify as an abetment of suicide:
- An allegation must be of either direct or indirect act of incitement to the commission of an offence of suicide
- Mere allegations of harassment of the deceased by another person would not be sufficient in itself, unless there are allegations of such actions on the part of the accused which compelled the commission of suicide
Voice For Men India Note:
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Justice in India depends upon what gender you belong to
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Sadly, laws are interpreted by respective Judges depending on their personal values and opinions
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Recently, a young doctor from Kerala died by suicide, accusing her fiance of dowry harassment. The man was booked and arrested at once
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Voice For Men India had supported the arrest as we believe every victim, irrespective of gender, deserves justice. Can one call the woman weak and of frail mentality in this case, as she too had an option of calling off the marriage instead of ending life
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There are endless cases where boyfriends have been arrested when their girlfriends died by suicide, recent example that had gone viral was that of actor Sheezan Khan who had been arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of his Ali Baba Dastaan-E-Kabul co-star Tunisha. The couple had broken up sometime ago, after which the girlfriend ended her life. In November 2023, the Bombay High Court refused to quash FIR against the actor
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In October 2022, a woman from Bengaluru died by suicide after receiving divorce notice from her husband. The man was arrested for abetment to suicide of his wife
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As per law, whenever a married woman dies within 7-years of marriage under mysterious circumstances, her husband and in-laws are automatically booked – most often on word of her parents even when there is no suicide note
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Any unnatural or untimely death is a lifelong suffering for the loved ones of the deceased
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While accused women walk away freely in all such cases, accused men spend a lifetime defending themselves at the mercy of numerous Judges depending on how they interpret the term ‘abetment’
Suicide Prevention Helpline For Men:
If you are facing matrimonial problems or threats of false cases in a relationship, you can connect with Save Indian Family (SIF) National Helpline: +91 8882 498 498
DO WATCH:
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READ ORDER | Girlfriend Cannot Be Booked If Boyfriend Dies By Suicide Due To Failure In Love: Chhattisgarh HC
— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) December 13, 2023
▪️"For wrong decision taken by man of weak/frail mentality, girlfriend can't be blamed as having abetted his committing suicide"#VoiceForMenhttps://t.co/oL5D4uhpee
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