2025 SCC Vol. 4 Part 5
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Ss. 11, 12(5) and 18 — Unilateral appointment of sole arbitrator/curating panel of arbitrators: Unilateral appointment
Abetment of suicide
Emotional/mental vulnerability due to depression, & other psychiatric problems to be considered in abetment of suicide cases; higher proof of instigation required: Delhi HC
“Every case of suicide does not amount to abetment and therefore, the Court has to see whether the conduct of the accused was such that a normal person, not merely a hypersensitive one, would have been driven to suicide.”
Mere suspicion of extra-marital affair, however morally reprehensible, does not per se amount to abetment of suicide: Delhi HC grants bail to a man accused u/s 498A, 304-B IPC
Even after assuming, that such relationship existed between petitioner and his sister-in-law, or demeaning language in reference to the deceased, was exchanged via WhatsApp between them, these facts, stand alone, do not, prima facie, disclose the specific ingredients of cruelty or harassment related to dowry demand.
‘Acts of accused were too remote and indirect to constitute offence under S. 306 IPC’; SC quashes proceedings against mother accused of abetting suicide of son’s girlfriend
“A remark such as asking the deceased to not be alive if she cannot live without marrying her lover will also not gain the status of abetment. There needs to be a positive act that creates an environment where the deceased is pushed to an edge in order to sustain the charge of Section 306 IPC.”
Supreme Court quashes abetment of suicide charges against husband and in-laws, citing lack of prima facie evidence of intent to instigate the deceased
“There must be a close proximity between the positive act of instigation by the accused person and the commission of suicide by the victim.”
SC discusses essential ingredients of S. 306 IPC while discharging husband & his family from charges of abetting wife’s suicide
“It is essential to establish that the death was a result of suicide and that the accused actively abetted its commission. This can involve instigating the victim or engaging in specific actions that facilitated the act. The prosecution must prove beyond doubt that the accused played a definitive role in the abetment. Without clear evidence of an active role in provoking or assisting the suicide, a conviction under Section 306 IPC cannot be sustained.”
Refusal to marry in a relationship does not amount to criminal liability for abetment of suicide: Supreme Court
“To convict a person for abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC, there has to be a clear mens rea on the part of the accused to abet such a crime and it requires an active act or a direct act leading to the commission of suicide.
‘No direct involvement in crime’; Gujarat HC grants bail to a child in conflict with law accused of abetting suicide of family
The family of four committed suicide near railway tracks, allegedly due to atrocious and forcible demand for money which they owed to co-accused.
‘Subjecting child to corporal punishment for reforming him cannot be a part of education’; Chhattisgarh HC refuses to quash FIR against teacher for abetment of suicide
At this stage, averments made in the petition that the allegations levelled against accused is false, cannot be looked into while exercising powers under Section 528 of the Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
‘Utterances made in moment of anger cannot be deemed as instigation’; Punjab and Haryana HC set aside conviction and sentence of wife convicted for abetment of suicide
The Court opined that is important to acknowledge that individuals vary in their sensitivity and temperament. It is not solely the feelings of the deceased that would matter, but most importantly, the intention behind the act of the accused would also have to be discerned.
‘Well-meaning teacher facing trial for suicide of hypersensitive student will be travesty of justice’; Punjab and Haryana HC set aside abetment of suicide charge against a teacher
“If a person committing suicide is hypersensitive and the allegations attributed to the accused are otherwise not ordinarily expected to induce a similarly situated person to take the extreme step to commit suicide, it will be unsafe to hold the accused guilty of abetment of suicide.”
Abetment of Suicide | ‘Frustrated on account of work pressure’; SC quashes case under S. 306 IPC
“The deceased was frustrated on account of work pressure and was feeling the pressure of working in two different districts.”
24 years after a woman’s suicide, Supreme Court finds no evidence to convict accused for abetting the same
Supreme Court raised doubts that if prosecution version was to be believed, there had to be presence of syringe and needle or a container at the scene of occurrence.
Guilt under IPC Section 306 cannot be based on presumption: Supreme Court acquits man in wife’s 1993 suicide case
Supreme Court commented that “the criminal justice system of ours can itself be a punishment” as happened in the instant matter which started in 1993 and came to an end in 2024, after 30 years of suffering.
Abetment of Suicide| Quashing would result in miscarriage of justice as prima facie evidence supports trial: Calcutta High Court
Calcutta High Court noted that the victim was a minor on the date of the alleged suicide, which prima facie invoked Section 305 of the IPC.
Allegations in FIR against rape accused cannot be considered as abetment of suicide: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Madhya Pradesh High Court quashed the FIR and consequential criminal proceedings arising thereafter.
Supreme Court | 74-year-old lawyer gets bail in abetment of suicide case
In the case at hand, a man had shot himself dead following a monetary dispute with the 74-year-old Advocate’s sone and two others.
100 Reports from 22 High Courts | Marital Rape, Taj Mahal Case, Maternity Benefit, Right of Press, Provocative Slogans and more | May RoundUp 2022
TOP STORY OF THE MONTH Marital Rape Split Verdict on Criminalisation of Marital Rape| Can a Husband be labelled as a rapist?
Abetment of suicide by wife and mother-in-law of deceased? P&H HC finds out
Punjab and Haryana High Court: Vikas Bahl, J., granted bail to mother-in-law and wife alleged to have incited husband to commit suicide.
Woman commits suicide due to alleged illicit relationship of husband; mother registers case but seeks to withdraw stating she had lodged report under ‘rage’ | Bom HC Demystifies
Bombay High Court: Division Bench of M.S. Sonal and Pushpa V. Ganediwala, JJ., quashed the charges of abetment of suicide and other offences