Insulting, using abusive language would not amount to abetment of suicide: Bombay High Court

Insulting a person by using abusive language itself will not amount to the offence of abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Bombay High Court held last week [Tejas Pomraj Parihar vs State of Maharashtra]. .Single-judge Justice Bharati Dangre placed reliance on the Supreme Court judgment in Arnab Goswami vs State of Maharashtra, to hold that two essential ingredients of have to satisfied for an offence to be made out under Section 306 - (1) abetment and (2) intention of the accused to aid or instigate or abet the deceased to commit suicide."Thus, the act of the accused, however insulting the deceased by using abusive language, by itself will not constitute abetment of suicide. There should be evidence capable of suggesting that the accused intended by such act to instigate the deceased to commit suicide. Unless the ingredients of instigation/abetment to commit suicide has satisfied, the accused cannot be convicted under section 306 of IPC," the Court held in her order passed on July 28..The bench was seized of a bail application filed by Tejas Parihar in a case lodged against him at Ghatkopar Police Station in suburban Mumbai for abetting the suicide of his brother's girlfriend.As per the prosecution case, the girl and one Karan (applicant's brother) were in a relationship. However, applicant and his family were against the relationship. It is alleged that the applicant insulted and abused the girl and even threatened her family not to insist on marrying his brother.The girl died by suicide July 30, 2020 and in a suicide note named applicant and other members of her boyfriend's family as responsible for her death..Justice Dangre after going through the note, said that the girl was frustrated as she felt dejected."The suicide note when perused, reflect the mental state of a girl, who felt dejected when in front of her family she was made to admit relationship with Karan but he refused to perform the marriage. In the fit of frustration, she has written that the entire family of Karan shall be punished," the judge noted.The Court further said that abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or intentionally aiding the person in committing an act."Without a positive act on part of the accused to instigate or aid in committing suicide, conviction cannot be sustained. The intention of the legislature and the ratio of the cases decided by various Courts, revolving around section 306 of IPC, make it clear that there has to be a clear mens rea to commit the offence. It also requires an active and direct role, leading the deceased to commit suicide, seeing no option and that the act must have been intended to push the deceased into such a position that s/he committed suicide," the judge observed.Therefore, the Court granted him bail on surety of ₹25,000..Advocate Satyam Dubey appeared for the applicant. Additional Public Prosecutor Rutuja Ambekar represented the State. .[Read Order]