Wife’s Suspicion Of Husband’s Phone Calls, No Evidence Of Harassment: Gujarat HC Upholds Acquittal In Suicide Case

Alkaben, married to the accused for about four years, died by drowning in a canal on 26 August 2013.

Her mother alleged that the accused verbally and physically harassed Alkaben after she objected to his phone conversations with another woman.

The State charged him under Sections 498A, 306 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC).

The Sessions Court acquitted him on 6 June 2016, and the State appealed under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC).

On appeal, the High Court reappreciated the prosecution evidence, including testimony that no prior complaint or treatment for abuse had been reported, that the alleged other woman was never identified, and that the post-mortem evidence found no injuries.

Section 306 IPC punishes abetment of suicide, and Section 107 IPC defines abetment as instigation, participation in a conspiracy, or intentional aid.

As explained in Amalendu Pal alias Jhantu v. State of West Bengal, conviction under Section 306 requires proof of an active role involving instigation or intentional aid; harassment alone, without a positive act sufficiently connected to the suicide, is insufficient.

The court also relied on Randhir Singh v. State of Punjab, State of W.B. v. Orilal Jaiswal and Kishori Lal v. State of M.P. for the need to assess whether the conduct induced the suicide and whether the statutory elements of abetment were established.

In an appeal against acquittal, the appellate court may reappreciate the evidence, but should not interfere where the trial court’s view is a possible one; an acquittal further strengthens the presumption of innocence.

The appeal concerned charges under Sections 498A and 504 IPC as well, although the judgment’s stated legal discussion focuses principally on abetment of suicide.

The High Court found no reliable evidence that the accused had an affair or that Alkaben was subjected to mental or physical harassment during her lifetime.

The alleged woman was not identified, the family witnesses lacked personal knowledge of an affair, and no prior complaint or medical treatment for abuse was shown.

The medical evidence recorded drowning as the cause of death and disclosed no injuries.

Applying the principles on abetment, the court held that the evidence did not establish instigation, intentional aid, or a proximate positive act by the accused that led Alkaben to take her life.

It therefore found the Sessions Court’s acquittal to be a proper and possible view, with no ground for appellate intervention.

It dismissed the appeal and confirmed the Sessions Court’s judgment and order of acquittal; the bail bond was cancelled and the record and proceedings were ordered to be returned to the trial court.