New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday held that a spouse’s extramarital relationship, by itself, cannot be grounds to prosecute a partner for abetment to suicide. The court emphasised that such a charge requires a clear act of instigation.
A bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Atul Chandurkar observed that to sustain a charge under Section 306 of the penal code, there must be evidence that the accused directly or indirectly contributed to the suicide with intent. Abetment, the court said, involves an active act that leaves the deceased with no reasonable alternative but to take their own life.
The court quashed proceedings against a man accused of being in a relationship with the deceased’s wife. It held that even if the relationship were assumed, there was no evidence of the necessary mens rea or any act of instigation. “There is no allegation that the appellant instigated or aided the suicide,” the bench noted.
Setting aside a Chhattisgarh High Court order that had allowed the trial to proceed, the Supreme Court rejected the prosecution’s argument that the deceased’s humiliation due to the alleged affair amounted to abetment.
However, the relief applies only to the man. The deceased’s wife, also an accused, did not challenge the proceedings against her, and the trial in her case will continue.
The court reiterated that there must be material showing a proximate and direct act of instigation to establish a charge of abetment to suicide.
