Kerala HC's big decision that backing out on a promise to marry should lead to suicide
The court also examined the diaries written by the deceased in which she had expressed her frustration, heartbreak and disappointment at the accused's conduct but found that they did not reflect specific acts of provocation by the accused but her personal feelings of betrayal. It appears that the deceased was heartbroken by the alleged conduct of the accused.
According to the Kerala High Court's decision, breaking the promise to get married without any conditions would not be regarded as encouraging suicide in the sense of Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). While accepting the accused's discharge application, the court passed this verdict.
According to News18, a single bench of Justice CS Sudha was hearing a case related to alleged abetment to suicide following the breakdown of a relationship. The case was filed by the sister of the deceased woman, Anju, who had allegedly committed suicide after her relationship with the accused/petitioner Biju Kumar soured after he got a government job and allegedly demanded 101 gold coins as dowry from the family of the deceased woman.
Being unable to fulfill the demand, Anju's family was facing tension with Kumar, who reportedly started keeping a distance from Anju. When his marriage was fixed up with another woman, Anju got upset and later committed suicide on October 3, 2013. After she died, the family of the deceased accused that Biju is responsible for abetment to suicide.
An FIR was initially lodged under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)for unnatural death. In further investigation, Kumar was booked under Section 306 IPC, i.e., abetment to suicide, based on the diary maintained by Anju wherein she had written about betrayal and anger coupled with a heartbroken feeling caused by none other than the appellant Kumar.
Analyzing the definition of Section 107 of the IPC, the court said there must be a certain incitement or intentionality to cause an act that compels the victim to take his life. Words uttered in anger or emotion, without any intention, cannot be termed as incitement, the court said.
The court referred to the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Chitresh Kumar Chopra vs State (Government of Delhi) 2009, which maintained that unless there is concrete evidence on the part of the accused, he cannot be held guilty for suicide incitement.
