Supreme Law News

No Suicide-Related Acts of Incitement Prior to Date: SC

After observing that the accused had not engaged in any acts of incitement prior to the date of the deceased's suicide, the Supreme Court dismissed the case against him under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide).

The four suicide notes that the deceased is said to have written, in which she and her family members, as well as a local MLA, are accused of being responsible for the deceased's suicide, were noted by the court. "Taking the charge sheet as correct, we find that there were no acts of incitement on the part of the appellant proximate to the date on which the deceased committed suicide," Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said.

The appellant is not accused of any actions that occurred close to the suicide, which was of such a type that the dead had no choice but to take the extreme measure of killing themselves. Consequently, there is no evidence of an offense against the appellant.

According to the complaint in the FIR, her brother reportedly used poison to end his life. The dead and his older brother got into a fight about a piece of land. The deceased unsuccessfully asked a local MLA for assistance. The dead was allegedly tormented by the elder brother and his family members, including the appellant, for not being married. The complaint claimed that the deceased was told to go die somewhere else.

Following the filing of the charge sheet, the appellant filed a petition to have it set aside, but the Madras High Court's contested decision denied it.

The appellant contended that she had departed for the United States prior to the deceased's suicide and that there was no documentation indicating her involvement in the deceased's incitement. In contrast, the State contested the appeal, arguing that "one cannot conclude at this stage that no case of commission of the offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC was made out against the appellant" in the absence of the Trial Court recording oral testimony.

The Court concluded, "There is no other allegation made against the appellant, other than a general allegation that the appellant, her father, and other family members used to insult the deceased and tell him to go out and die."

The Court observed that there was no evidence submitted to the record indicating that the deceased and the appellant had any phone conversations.

According to the Court's additional ruling, "if the charge sheet is accurate, we conclude that the appellant did not engage in acts of incitement prior to the date on which the deceased committed suicide."

The Supreme Court granted the appeal as a result.

Cause Title: Amudha v. The State & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 244)

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( LLM, MBA, (UK), PhD, AIMA, AFAI, PHD Chamber, ICTC, PCI, FCC, DFC, PPL, MNP, BNI, ICJ (UK), WP, (UK), MLE, Harvard Square, London, CT, Blair Singer Institute, (USA), Dip. in International Crime, Leiden University, the Netherlands )

Advocate & Consultant Supreme Court of India, High Courts & Tribunals.