In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court has ruled that merely expressing disapproval of a marriage does not amount to abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The ruling was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma in the case of Laxmi Das vs State of West Bengal.
The Court emphasized that to sustain a charge of abetment of suicide, there must be a “positive act that creates an environment where the deceased is pushed to an edge.” It further clarified that expressing disapproval of a marriage or making remarks like “not being alive if unable to marry a lover” does not meet this threshold.
“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,” the Court stated in its judgment.
The case arose from allegations against the appellant, the mother of the deceased’s lover, and other family members, accusing them of abetting the suicide of a woman. The trial court had rejected the appellant’s plea for discharge, a decision later upheld by the Calcutta High Court. However, the Supreme Court set aside these orders, finding no actionable instigation on the part of the appellant.
The apex court pointed out that the deceased’s family, not the appellant’s, was unhappy with the relationship between the deceased and Babu Das. “We find that the acts of the Appellant are too remote and indirect to constitute the offense 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,” the Court concluded.
Case: Laxmi Das vs State of WB – Available on LAWFYI.IO
