Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 306—Abetment of suicide—Proof—Abetment involves a mental process of instigation or intentionally aiding another person to do a particular thing—To bring a charge under Section 306 of IPC, the act of abetment would require the positive act of instigation or intentionally aiding another person to commit suicide—Without such mens rea on the part of the accused person being apparent from the face of the record, a charge under the said section cannot be sustained—Abetment also requires an active act, direct or indirect, on the part of the accused person which left the deceased with no other option but to commit suicide.
[Para 15]
Sections 306 and 34—Abetment of suicide—Rejection of discharge application by High Court—Appeal—Instigation or incitement on the part of the accused person is the gravamen of the offence of abetment to suicide—In order to link the act of instigation to the act of suicide, the two occurrences must be in close proximity to each other so as to form a nexus or a chain, with the act of suicide by the deceased being a direct result of the act of instigation by the accused person—Clear gap of over a month between the incident at the mahalokadalat and the commission of suicide—A gap of over a month would be sufficient time to dissolve the nexus between the two acts—Even the facts were alleged for the first time in the FIR which was lodged five days after the incident—Reasoning given by the High Court for refusal to discharge the appellants is completely perfunctory—Prosecution has failed to prima facie establish that the appellants had any intention to instigate or aid or abet the deceased to commit suicide—Continuation of criminal proceedings against the appellants would result in an abuse of process of law—Impugned judgment and order of High Court is set aside—Appeal allowed.
[Paras 32 to 38]