'No Positive Act Of Instigation': Kerala High Court Quashes Abetment Of Suicide Case Against Defence Aspirant For "Keeping Away" From Girlfriend

The Kerala High Court recently quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against a Defence aspirant for allegedly abetting the suicide of his college-girlfriend by keeping away from their relationship after passing out.

Single bench of Justice K Babu cited plethora of precedents to reiterate that in order to convict a person under Section 306 IPC, there has to be a clear mens rea to commit the offence and an active act of instigation which led the deceased to commit suicide.

"Abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in doing a thing. Without a positive act on the part of the accused to instigate or aid in committing suicide, conviction cannot be sustained," the Court held.

The Court made the following observations in a criminal petition filed by the petitioner-boy to quash the criminal proceedings against him.

State counsel contended that a prima facie case was made out against the petitioner for abetting the commission of suicide of the victim.

However, from the materials placed before the Court in the instant case, it found no positive act on the part of the petitioner that instigated or abetted to commit suicide.

Court said mere allegations of harassment would not attract the offence under Section 306 IPC, rather there should be direct or indirect role played by the accused in instigating the victim to commit suicide.

“There shall be direct or indirect acts of incitement to the commission of suicide by the accused. The person who is said to have abetted the commission of suicide must have played an active role by an act of instigation or by doing certain acts to facilitate the commission of suicide. Instigation has to be gathered from the circumstances of the case. It depends upon the intention of the person who abets in order to bring forth the ingredients of the offence under Section 306 of IPC. The prosecution has to establish nexus between the alleged act of the accused and the commission of the suicide by the victim. The act of the accused must have a positive effect to drive the victim to the commission of suicide.”

On the basis of the above findings, the Court quashed the proceedings against the petitioner.

Counsel for the petitioner: Advocates Johnson Gomez and M.R.Sudheendran

Counsel for the respondents: Public Prosecutor M.K.Pushpalatha and Advocate R. Sreehari

Case name: Sunil Kumar V State of Kerala

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 461

Case number: CRL.MC NO. 690 OF 2020

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