The Supreme Court of India has ruled that mere refusal to marry cannot be considered as 'incitement to suicide' unless there is proof of purposeful act or inducement. The observation was made by a bench of Justices Pankaj Mittal and Ujjwal Bhuiyan in the judgment quashing the conviction of a person convicted in a case 17 years ago. This information is known from the report of Indian media Hindustan Times.
The court said, rejection of marriage or breaking up of a long-term relationship is painful but it is a part of human life. Tragically, many commit suicide in distress or despair following such incidents and are accused of inciting suicide. But such charges will not be admissible unless there is clear evidence of guilt.
According to the details of the case, in 2007, an FIR was filed by the victim's mother against a man from Karnataka named Kamruddin Dastgir Sanadi for cheating and abetting suicide. According to the FIR, the accused had a relationship with the 21-year-old woman for eight years. But the woman committed suicide in August 2007 as she did not marry 'with promise'.
Sanadi was then charged under sections 420 (cheating), 306 (incitement to suicide) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code. The Karnataka trial court acquitted the accused of all charges.
But when the Karnataka government appealed against the verdict, the High Court found Sanadi guilty of cheating and abetting suicide and sentenced him to five years in prison with a fine of Rs 25,000. Challenging the judgment of the High Court, Sanadi appealed to the Supreme Court.
After almost 17 years of the incident, the Appellate Bench overturned the judgment of the High Court last Friday. In the 17-page judgment, the court said, 'There was no allegation of physical relationship between the accused and the victim. There was no evidence of any “purposeful act or instigation” of the accused behind the suicide of the victim woman.'
The judges said, 'Relationship breakdown can cause emotional distress. But it does not encourage criminal behavior. Unless the accused's criminal intention to abet suicide is proved, he cannot be convicted under Section 306 of the Penal Code.'
The Supreme Court judgment made it clear that mere refusal to marry cannot be considered as abetment to suicide.
