The Chhattisgarh High Court quashed the order of framing charge against a girl and her two brothers for abetting the suicide of the girl’s ex-boyfriend.
If a man dies by suicide due to love failure, his girlfriend cannot be booked for abetting his suicide, the Chhattisgarh HC observed.
“For the wrong decision taken by a man of weak or frail mentality, another person cannot be blamed as having abetted his committing suicide,” it added.
The girl and her brothers filed a writ petition in the High Court against the order passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Dongergarh, District Rajnandgaon.
The judge below had framed charges under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 against the girl and under Section 306/34 against her brothers.
The prosecution case was that on January 28, 2023, the police received an intimation regarding the unnatural death of the deceased. In a suicide note left behind by the deceased was seized, in which allegations were made against the girl and her brothers.
As per the contents of the suicidal note, the deceased and the girl were in a love relationship for about 5 to 7 years and suddenly the girl broke up with him and developed a love affair with some other boy. The letter further mentioned that the brothers of the girl were threatening the deceased for life and due to these reasons, he had committed suicide by hanging.
Before the high court, the counsel for the accused persons argued that there was no material on record which prima facie established that they, by doing any positive act, had instigated, aided or provoked the deceased to commit suicide.
Court pointed out that the only incriminating evidence against the accused was the suicide note and it contained only allegations and there was nothing in suicide letter to even suggest that the accused had done any instigation i.e. continuous harassment and torture or goading or provocation.
“Prima facie it is appearing from suicide note that the deceased was in deep love with applicant No.1, he could not tolerate betrayal in love by applicant, her decision to marry with some other boy, therefore, out of frustration in love, he committed suicide, blaming applicant No.1 as a person or rather a cause which compelled him to take such an extreme step,” court noted.
It also referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Geo Verghese vs. The State of Rajasthan & Anr (2021), where the top court had quashed an FIR registered under Section 306 of IPC.
Also Read: Ahmedabad: ACB Traps School Employee Taking Bribe From Student
