Full Judgment Text
2025 INSC 607
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 4268 OF 2024
SHENBAGAVALLI AND ORS. … APPELLANTS
VERSUS
THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE,
KANCHEEPURAM DISTRICT AND ANR. …RESPONDENTS
AND
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 4269 OF 2024
J U D G M E N T
AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J.
1. These two criminal appeals have been preferred against
judgment dated 13.04.2018, passed by the Single Judge
of the Madras High Court, which dismissed the petitions
preferred by the Appellants under Section 482 CrPC for
quashing of the chargesheet submitted against them
under Section 306 IPC. The relevant basic facts of the
case are that the deceased Dinesh and Pushpakalashree
(Accused No. 7) got married on 15.09.2013. Both are well
qualified, as the deceased was an engineer whereas
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
NARENDRA PRASAD
Date: 2025.04.30
18:22:43 IST
Reason:
Accused No. 7 is an MBA graduate.
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 1 of 12
2. Soon after the marriage, relationship between the couple
deteriorated. It is alleged that on 10.11.2013, Accused
No. 1 to 6 came to the residence of the deceased and had
a quarrel. They not only abused the deceased and his
family with filthy language but also insulted the
deceased by calling him impotent and infertile. Accused
No. 7 went along with Accused No. 1 to 6 to her parental
house.
3. The prosecution’s case rests on the assertion that the
deceased from 10.11.2013 to 09.12.2013 was
continuously subjected to harassment by Accused No.1
to 7, owing to which Dinesh committed suicide.
4. Initially, the Police registered a case under Section 174
CrPC based upon the complaint made by Mr. K. Suresh
(Respondent No. 2), the younger brother of the deceased.
It is also asserted that while taking away Accused No. 7
along with them, the other co-accused threatened that
they would get a dowry case registered against the
deceased and his mother to get them arrested.
5. Due to this shame, degradation and depression, the
deceased had stopped coming out of his house to face
the public. During the course of investigation, the
deceased’s mother – Ambika handed over torn pages of
a diary allegedly maintained by the deceased containing
a suicide note disclosing the continued harassment
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 2 of 12
undergone by the deceased at the hands of Accused No.
1 to 7. In the light of the above, the FIR was registered
under Section 306 by altering it from Section 174 of
CrPC. After the conversion of the case under Section 306
of IPC and on completion of the investigation, a
chargesheet was filed against the appellants which was
committed to the Court of Sessions in S.C. No. 9 of 2016.
6. On such presentation of the chargesheet followed by
committal proceedings, a petition under Section 482 of
CrPC was preferred before the High Court challenging
the same on the ground that no offence under Section
306 is made out even going by the alleged suicide note
which is based upon the torn pages of the diary of the
deceased which was being maintained by him. The
ingredients of Section 306 were not made out. The other
aspects with regard to the aspect of there being flaws in
the investigation were also pointed out. The High Court
on considering the submissions made by the parties
proceeded to dismiss the same leading to the filing of the
present appeals.
7. It is the contention of the Learned Counsel for the
Appellant that the alleged suicide note does not specify
the date on which it was written. It is asserted that
although it is the stand of the prosecution that the torn
pages of the diary were sent to the forensic laboratory,
but no such report has been placed on record identifying
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 3 of 12
it to be the handwriting of the deceased. It is asserted
that the incident of harassment which led to the
deceased committing suicide took place on 10.11.2013
whereas the suicide incident had taken place after one
month i.e. 09.12.2013.
8. Going by the suicide note, Accused No. 7, along with two
others had visited the house of the deceased only once
after the incident, i.e. the next day (11.11.2013) and
thereafter there has been no further contact with them.
9. There is nothing on record to indicate that, on the date
of the unfortunate incident or any time in close
proximity thereof there was any act of instigation on the
part of the Appellants. On this basis, it is contended that
the essential ingredients of Section 306 IPC are not
fulfilled, as there appears to be no provocation or
instigative act in close temporal proximity to the
incident. The language employed in the suicide note
does not reflect any direct inducement that left the
deceased with no other recourse but to take such an
extreme step. Even assuming that the notes were
authored by the deceased, a reading of their contents
suggests that the deceased may have been emotionally
sensitive and possibly reacted with disproportionate
gravity to the events in question. While the remark
allegedly made—questioning the manhood of the
deceased could be hurtful and may affect a person’s
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 4 of 12
dignity but it cannot, in itself and especially after a gap
of nearly a month between the incident and the suicide,
it cannot be construed as a sufficient provocation that
would impel an ordinary, reasonable person to take such
an irrevocable step.
10. Learned Counsel for the Appellants has placed reliance
upon Mahendra Singh and Another Gayatribai V.
1
State of M.P. , S.S. Chheena V. Vijay Kumar
2
Mahajan and Another , Netai Dutta V.
3
State of W.B. , Mohit Singhal and Another V. State
4
of Uttarakhand and Others and Amalendu Pal
5
alias Jhantu V. State of West Bengal to support his
contentions. Prayer has thus been made that the present
appeals may be allowed, and the chargesheet as
presented be quashed by setting aside the impugned
order of the High Court.
11. On the other hand, Counsel for the Respondents
submits that the allegations in the suicide note would be
enough to prima facie support the commission of the
offence at the hands of the Appellants. It would be a
question of trial to be decided by the Court on the basis
of evidence and therefore it would not be appropriate at
1
1995 Supp (3) SCC 731
2
(2010) 12 SCC 190
3
(2005) 2 SCC 659
4
(2024) 1 SCC 417
5
(2010) 1 SCC 707
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 5 of 12
this stage to interfere. Learned Counsel has also
supported the judgment passed by the High Court.
Prayer has been made for dismissal of the present
appeals.
12. We have considered the submissions made by the
Counsel for the parties and have gone through the
pleadings especially the alleged suicide note authored by
deceased Dinesh. A perusal of the same would show that
only four people have been held responsible for the
suicide whose names have been mentioned therein. The
primary reason as has been pointed out appears to be
the marriage having not worked out between the two i.e.
the deceased and Accused No. 7, his wife.
13. The incident which triggered the act of actual suicide
according to the suicide note, is when relatives of his
wife, who have been arrayed as accused and appellants
here, barged into their house on 10.11.2013. They
started abusing the deceased and his mother using filthy
language. They were alleged to have manhandled them.
Thereafter wife of the deceased having gone along with
them to her parental home and while going out they
shouted publicly that the deceased was impotent.
Further, his wife had threatened him to publish, on
internet, his nude photographs taken by her. Thereafter,
the allegations which come out is that on the very next
day i.e. 11.11.2013 his wife (accused No.7) along with
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 6 of 12
two other persons came to their house for discussion
about the incident which had taken place on 10.11.2013
which indicated it to be a well-planned and executed
incident to damage the reputation of the family.
Allegations regarding illicit relations of his wife and
threat of false implication in a dowry case has been
highlighted.
14. What turns out primarily from the sequence of events,
statements and the suicide note is that from 11.11.2013
until the actual date of suicide i.e. 09.12.2013 there has
been no contact whatsoever either in person or by phone
or any other means between the deceased or his relatives
and his wife or any of the other accused which would
indicate continuous harassment or torture or any sort of
pressure at the hands of the accused Appellants on the
deceased. Therefore, there is no proximity of any
harassment or instigation prior to the incident of suicide
having taken place. Otherwise also the contents of the
FIR do not in itself indicate any active or direct act which
can be said to have led the deceased to commit suicide
leaving him no option but to push the deceased into a
position that he committed suicide. From the suicide
note, no abetment can be said to have been established
that the accused instigated the deceased or there being
any persistent cruelty or harassment which would make
out an offence of abetment of suicide. Merely on the
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 7 of 12
basis of the allegations of harassment and that too a
month ago with in between there being no contact of any
sort on the part of the Appellants, till the time of
occurrence which can be said to have led or compelled
the deceased to have committed suicide, the offence has
not been made out . Mens rea cannot be presumed, but
must be ostensibly present and visible, which is missing
in the present case. It involves a mental process of
instigating a person and without a positive act on the
part of the Appellants which can be said to either to
instigate or aid in committing suicide, the ingredients of
the offence cannot be said to have been present.
15. Section 306 requires a person having committed suicide
as a first requirement but for abetment of such
commission, which is essential, the ingredients must be
found in Section 107 IPC. The requirement of abetment
under Section 107 IPC is instigation, secondly
engagement by himself or with other person in any
conspiracy for doing such thing or act or a legal omission
in pursuance to that conspiracy and thirdly intentionally
aids by any act or an illegal omission of doing that thing.
In large number of judgments of this Court it stands
established that the essential ingredients of the offense
under Section 306 IPC are (i) the abetment; (ii) intention
of the accused to aid and instigate or abet the deceased
to commit suicide. Merely because the act of an accused
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 8 of 12
is highly insulting to the deceased by using abusive
language would not by itself constitute abetment of
suicide. There should be evidence suggesting that the
accused intended by such act to instigate the deceased
to commit suicide. ( M. Arjunan V. State represented
6
by its inspector of Police )
16. Similarly, in the case of Ude Singh and Others V. State
7
of Haryana , it has been observed in para 16 as follows:
“ 16. In cases of alleged abetment of suicide, there must be
a proof of direct or indirect act(s) of incitement to the
commission of suicide. It could hardly be disputed that the
question of cause of a suicide, particularly in the context of
an offence of abetment of suicide, remains a vexed one,
involving multifaceted and complex attributes of human
behaviour and responses/reactions. In the case of
accusation for abetment of suicide, the court would be
looking for cogent and convincing proof of the act(s) of
incitement to the commission of suicide. In the case of
suicide, mere allegation of harassment of the deceased by
another person would not suffice unless there be such
action on the part of the accused which compels the person
to commit suicide; and such an offending action ought to
be proximate to the time of occurrence. Whether a person
has abetted in the commission of suicide by another or not,
could only be gathered from the facts and circumstances
of each case.
16.1. For the purpose of finding out if a person has
abetted commission of suicide by another, the
consideration would be if the accused is guilty of the act of
instigation of the act of suicide. As explained and
reiterated by this Court in the decisions above referred,
instigation means to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or
encourage to do an act. If the persons who committed
suicide had been hypersensitive and the action of the
6
(2019) 3 SCC 315
7
(2019) 17 SCC 301
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 9 of 12
accused is otherwise not ordinarily expected to induce a
similarly circumstanced person to commit suicide, it may
not be safe to hold the accused guilty of abetment of
suicide. But, on the other hand, if the accused by his acts
and by his continuous course of conduct creates a
situation which leads the deceased perceiving no other
option except to commit suicide, the case may fall within
the four corners of Section 306 IPC. If the accused plays
an active role in tarnishing the self-esteem and self-respect
of the victim, which eventually draws the victim to commit
suicide, the accused may be held guilty of abetment of
suicide. The question of mens rea on the part of the
accused in such cases would be examined with reference
to the actual acts and deeds of the accused and if the acts
and deeds are only of such nature where the accused
intended nothing more than harassment or snap show of
anger, a particular case may fall short of the offence of
abetment of suicide. However, if the accused kept on
irritating or annoying the deceased by words or deeds
until the deceased reacted or was provoked, a particular
case may be that of abetment of suicide. Such being the
matter of delicate analysis of human behaviour, each case
is required to be examined on its own facts, while taking
note of all the surrounding factors having bearing on the
actions and psyche of the accused and the deceased.”
17. These being the essential ingredients for the offence of
abetment to suicide, and the said ingredients having not
been fulfilled, the further continuation of proceedings
would not be sustainable. The other evidence such as
statements, sought to be relied upon by the prosecution,
apart from the suicide note, does not in any manner
advance the case of the prosecution, particularly when
the foundation of the case is the suicide note itself. With
the very element of abetment conspicuously absent from
the allegations made in the FIR which is primarily based
upon the suicide note, the essential requirements for
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 10 of 12
constituting an offence under Section 306 IPC remain
unfulfilled. As such, the continuation of the criminal
proceedings initiated against the Appellants would
amount to an abuse of the process of law. The Court
cannot permit such proceedings to degenerate into
instruments of harassment or unjust prosecution.
18. The Court would not hesitate to exercise its
extraordinary powers which are inherent to quash such
proceedings when it comes to fore, and the court is
satisfied that allowing the proceedings to continue would
be an abuse of process of Court or that the ends of the
justice require that the proceedings ought to be
quashed. Reference in this regard may be made to the
Judgment of this Court in Geo Varghese V. State of
8
Rajasthan and Another .
19. In the light of the above findings, when offence under
Section 306 itself is not being made out continuance of
the proceedings against the Appellants cannot be
permitted.
20. The present appeals are allowed. The impugned
Judgment dated 13.04.2018 passed by the High Court
is hereby quashed and set aside. Proceedings in S.C. No.
8
(2021) 19 SCC 144
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 11 of 12
9 of 2016 pending before the Assistant Sessions Judge,
Kanchipuram, are also quashed and set aside.
21. Pending application(s), if any, stand disposed of.
.…..………………………………. J.
[ ABHAY S. OKA ]
....……………………………………J.
[ AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH ]
NEW DELHI;
APRIL 30, 2025
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 12 of 12
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 4268 OF 2024
SHENBAGAVALLI AND ORS. … APPELLANTS
VERSUS
THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE,
KANCHEEPURAM DISTRICT AND ANR. …RESPONDENTS
AND
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 4269 OF 2024
J U D G M E N T
AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J.
1. These two criminal appeals have been preferred against
judgment dated 13.04.2018, passed by the Single Judge
of the Madras High Court, which dismissed the petitions
preferred by the Appellants under Section 482 CrPC for
quashing of the chargesheet submitted against them
under Section 306 IPC. The relevant basic facts of the
case are that the deceased Dinesh and Pushpakalashree
(Accused No. 7) got married on 15.09.2013. Both are well
qualified, as the deceased was an engineer whereas
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
NARENDRA PRASAD
Date: 2025.04.30
18:22:43 IST
Reason:
Accused No. 7 is an MBA graduate.
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 1 of 12
2. Soon after the marriage, relationship between the couple
deteriorated. It is alleged that on 10.11.2013, Accused
No. 1 to 6 came to the residence of the deceased and had
a quarrel. They not only abused the deceased and his
family with filthy language but also insulted the
deceased by calling him impotent and infertile. Accused
No. 7 went along with Accused No. 1 to 6 to her parental
house.
3. The prosecution’s case rests on the assertion that the
deceased from 10.11.2013 to 09.12.2013 was
continuously subjected to harassment by Accused No.1
to 7, owing to which Dinesh committed suicide.
4. Initially, the Police registered a case under Section 174
CrPC based upon the complaint made by Mr. K. Suresh
(Respondent No. 2), the younger brother of the deceased.
It is also asserted that while taking away Accused No. 7
along with them, the other co-accused threatened that
they would get a dowry case registered against the
deceased and his mother to get them arrested.
5. Due to this shame, degradation and depression, the
deceased had stopped coming out of his house to face
the public. During the course of investigation, the
deceased’s mother – Ambika handed over torn pages of
a diary allegedly maintained by the deceased containing
a suicide note disclosing the continued harassment
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 2 of 12
undergone by the deceased at the hands of Accused No.
1 to 7. In the light of the above, the FIR was registered
under Section 306 by altering it from Section 174 of
CrPC. After the conversion of the case under Section 306
of IPC and on completion of the investigation, a
chargesheet was filed against the appellants which was
committed to the Court of Sessions in S.C. No. 9 of 2016.
6. On such presentation of the chargesheet followed by
committal proceedings, a petition under Section 482 of
CrPC was preferred before the High Court challenging
the same on the ground that no offence under Section
306 is made out even going by the alleged suicide note
which is based upon the torn pages of the diary of the
deceased which was being maintained by him. The
ingredients of Section 306 were not made out. The other
aspects with regard to the aspect of there being flaws in
the investigation were also pointed out. The High Court
on considering the submissions made by the parties
proceeded to dismiss the same leading to the filing of the
present appeals.
7. It is the contention of the Learned Counsel for the
Appellant that the alleged suicide note does not specify
the date on which it was written. It is asserted that
although it is the stand of the prosecution that the torn
pages of the diary were sent to the forensic laboratory,
but no such report has been placed on record identifying
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 3 of 12
it to be the handwriting of the deceased. It is asserted
that the incident of harassment which led to the
deceased committing suicide took place on 10.11.2013
whereas the suicide incident had taken place after one
month i.e. 09.12.2013.
8. Going by the suicide note, Accused No. 7, along with two
others had visited the house of the deceased only once
after the incident, i.e. the next day (11.11.2013) and
thereafter there has been no further contact with them.
9. There is nothing on record to indicate that, on the date
of the unfortunate incident or any time in close
proximity thereof there was any act of instigation on the
part of the Appellants. On this basis, it is contended that
the essential ingredients of Section 306 IPC are not
fulfilled, as there appears to be no provocation or
instigative act in close temporal proximity to the
incident. The language employed in the suicide note
does not reflect any direct inducement that left the
deceased with no other recourse but to take such an
extreme step. Even assuming that the notes were
authored by the deceased, a reading of their contents
suggests that the deceased may have been emotionally
sensitive and possibly reacted with disproportionate
gravity to the events in question. While the remark
allegedly made—questioning the manhood of the
deceased could be hurtful and may affect a person’s
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 4 of 12
dignity but it cannot, in itself and especially after a gap
of nearly a month between the incident and the suicide,
it cannot be construed as a sufficient provocation that
would impel an ordinary, reasonable person to take such
an irrevocable step.
10. Learned Counsel for the Appellants has placed reliance
upon Mahendra Singh and Another Gayatribai V.
1
State of M.P. , S.S. Chheena V. Vijay Kumar
2
Mahajan and Another , Netai Dutta V.
3
State of W.B. , Mohit Singhal and Another V. State
4
of Uttarakhand and Others and Amalendu Pal
5
alias Jhantu V. State of West Bengal to support his
contentions. Prayer has thus been made that the present
appeals may be allowed, and the chargesheet as
presented be quashed by setting aside the impugned
order of the High Court.
11. On the other hand, Counsel for the Respondents
submits that the allegations in the suicide note would be
enough to prima facie support the commission of the
offence at the hands of the Appellants. It would be a
question of trial to be decided by the Court on the basis
of evidence and therefore it would not be appropriate at
1
1995 Supp (3) SCC 731
2
(2010) 12 SCC 190
3
(2005) 2 SCC 659
4
(2024) 1 SCC 417
5
(2010) 1 SCC 707
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 5 of 12
this stage to interfere. Learned Counsel has also
supported the judgment passed by the High Court.
Prayer has been made for dismissal of the present
appeals.
12. We have considered the submissions made by the
Counsel for the parties and have gone through the
pleadings especially the alleged suicide note authored by
deceased Dinesh. A perusal of the same would show that
only four people have been held responsible for the
suicide whose names have been mentioned therein. The
primary reason as has been pointed out appears to be
the marriage having not worked out between the two i.e.
the deceased and Accused No. 7, his wife.
13. The incident which triggered the act of actual suicide
according to the suicide note, is when relatives of his
wife, who have been arrayed as accused and appellants
here, barged into their house on 10.11.2013. They
started abusing the deceased and his mother using filthy
language. They were alleged to have manhandled them.
Thereafter wife of the deceased having gone along with
them to her parental home and while going out they
shouted publicly that the deceased was impotent.
Further, his wife had threatened him to publish, on
internet, his nude photographs taken by her. Thereafter,
the allegations which come out is that on the very next
day i.e. 11.11.2013 his wife (accused No.7) along with
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 6 of 12
two other persons came to their house for discussion
about the incident which had taken place on 10.11.2013
which indicated it to be a well-planned and executed
incident to damage the reputation of the family.
Allegations regarding illicit relations of his wife and
threat of false implication in a dowry case has been
highlighted.
14. What turns out primarily from the sequence of events,
statements and the suicide note is that from 11.11.2013
until the actual date of suicide i.e. 09.12.2013 there has
been no contact whatsoever either in person or by phone
or any other means between the deceased or his relatives
and his wife or any of the other accused which would
indicate continuous harassment or torture or any sort of
pressure at the hands of the accused Appellants on the
deceased. Therefore, there is no proximity of any
harassment or instigation prior to the incident of suicide
having taken place. Otherwise also the contents of the
FIR do not in itself indicate any active or direct act which
can be said to have led the deceased to commit suicide
leaving him no option but to push the deceased into a
position that he committed suicide. From the suicide
note, no abetment can be said to have been established
that the accused instigated the deceased or there being
any persistent cruelty or harassment which would make
out an offence of abetment of suicide. Merely on the
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 7 of 12
basis of the allegations of harassment and that too a
month ago with in between there being no contact of any
sort on the part of the Appellants, till the time of
occurrence which can be said to have led or compelled
the deceased to have committed suicide, the offence has
not been made out . Mens rea cannot be presumed, but
must be ostensibly present and visible, which is missing
in the present case. It involves a mental process of
instigating a person and without a positive act on the
part of the Appellants which can be said to either to
instigate or aid in committing suicide, the ingredients of
the offence cannot be said to have been present.
15. Section 306 requires a person having committed suicide
as a first requirement but for abetment of such
commission, which is essential, the ingredients must be
found in Section 107 IPC. The requirement of abetment
under Section 107 IPC is instigation, secondly
engagement by himself or with other person in any
conspiracy for doing such thing or act or a legal omission
in pursuance to that conspiracy and thirdly intentionally
aids by any act or an illegal omission of doing that thing.
In large number of judgments of this Court it stands
established that the essential ingredients of the offense
under Section 306 IPC are (i) the abetment; (ii) intention
of the accused to aid and instigate or abet the deceased
to commit suicide. Merely because the act of an accused
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 8 of 12
is highly insulting to the deceased by using abusive
language would not by itself constitute abetment of
suicide. There should be evidence suggesting that the
accused intended by such act to instigate the deceased
to commit suicide. ( M. Arjunan V. State represented
6
by its inspector of Police )
16. Similarly, in the case of Ude Singh and Others V. State
7
of Haryana , it has been observed in para 16 as follows:
“ 16. In cases of alleged abetment of suicide, there must be
a proof of direct or indirect act(s) of incitement to the
commission of suicide. It could hardly be disputed that the
question of cause of a suicide, particularly in the context of
an offence of abetment of suicide, remains a vexed one,
involving multifaceted and complex attributes of human
behaviour and responses/reactions. In the case of
accusation for abetment of suicide, the court would be
looking for cogent and convincing proof of the act(s) of
incitement to the commission of suicide. In the case of
suicide, mere allegation of harassment of the deceased by
another person would not suffice unless there be such
action on the part of the accused which compels the person
to commit suicide; and such an offending action ought to
be proximate to the time of occurrence. Whether a person
has abetted in the commission of suicide by another or not,
could only be gathered from the facts and circumstances
of each case.
16.1. For the purpose of finding out if a person has
abetted commission of suicide by another, the
consideration would be if the accused is guilty of the act of
instigation of the act of suicide. As explained and
reiterated by this Court in the decisions above referred,
instigation means to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or
encourage to do an act. If the persons who committed
suicide had been hypersensitive and the action of the
6
(2019) 3 SCC 315
7
(2019) 17 SCC 301
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 9 of 12
accused is otherwise not ordinarily expected to induce a
similarly circumstanced person to commit suicide, it may
not be safe to hold the accused guilty of abetment of
suicide. But, on the other hand, if the accused by his acts
and by his continuous course of conduct creates a
situation which leads the deceased perceiving no other
option except to commit suicide, the case may fall within
the four corners of Section 306 IPC. If the accused plays
an active role in tarnishing the self-esteem and self-respect
of the victim, which eventually draws the victim to commit
suicide, the accused may be held guilty of abetment of
suicide. The question of mens rea on the part of the
accused in such cases would be examined with reference
to the actual acts and deeds of the accused and if the acts
and deeds are only of such nature where the accused
intended nothing more than harassment or snap show of
anger, a particular case may fall short of the offence of
abetment of suicide. However, if the accused kept on
irritating or annoying the deceased by words or deeds
until the deceased reacted or was provoked, a particular
case may be that of abetment of suicide. Such being the
matter of delicate analysis of human behaviour, each case
is required to be examined on its own facts, while taking
note of all the surrounding factors having bearing on the
actions and psyche of the accused and the deceased.”
17. These being the essential ingredients for the offence of
abetment to suicide, and the said ingredients having not
been fulfilled, the further continuation of proceedings
would not be sustainable. The other evidence such as
statements, sought to be relied upon by the prosecution,
apart from the suicide note, does not in any manner
advance the case of the prosecution, particularly when
the foundation of the case is the suicide note itself. With
the very element of abetment conspicuously absent from
the allegations made in the FIR which is primarily based
upon the suicide note, the essential requirements for
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 10 of 12
constituting an offence under Section 306 IPC remain
unfulfilled. As such, the continuation of the criminal
proceedings initiated against the Appellants would
amount to an abuse of the process of law. The Court
cannot permit such proceedings to degenerate into
instruments of harassment or unjust prosecution.
18. The Court would not hesitate to exercise its
extraordinary powers which are inherent to quash such
proceedings when it comes to fore, and the court is
satisfied that allowing the proceedings to continue would
be an abuse of process of Court or that the ends of the
justice require that the proceedings ought to be
quashed. Reference in this regard may be made to the
Judgment of this Court in Geo Varghese V. State of
8
Rajasthan and Another .
19. In the light of the above findings, when offence under
Section 306 itself is not being made out continuance of
the proceedings against the Appellants cannot be
permitted.
20. The present appeals are allowed. The impugned
Judgment dated 13.04.2018 passed by the High Court
is hereby quashed and set aside. Proceedings in S.C. No.
8
(2021) 19 SCC 144
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 11 of 12
9 of 2016 pending before the Assistant Sessions Judge,
Kanchipuram, are also quashed and set aside.
21. Pending application(s), if any, stand disposed of.
.…..………………………………. J.
[ ABHAY S. OKA ]
....……………………………………J.
[ AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH ]
NEW DELHI;
APRIL 30, 2025
Criminal Appeal No(s). 4268-4269 of 2024 Page 12 of 12