The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court ruled on Wednesday that a man cannot be charged with abetment of suicide solely because a woman took her own life following the end of their long-term relationship.
Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke granted relief to a man accused of abetting the suicide of a woman he had been in a relationship with for nine years.
“It is only a case of broken relationship which by itself would not amount to abetment to commit suicide,” Justice Joshi-Phalke observed, while noting that the ‘exhaustive suicide note written by the deceased woman and also the WhatsApp Chats between them, revealed that it was a ‘love relationship’ which was developed between them out of love and thus, the physical relations between them were ‘consensual.’
“The investigation papers, nowhere reveal that the applicant, at any time, provoked the deceased victim in any manner to kill herself. On the contrary, the evidence shows that after breaking of the relationship, the deceased victim was constantly in contact with the applicant and was communicating with him. Therefore, in such a situation, merely because the applicant refused to marry her, that by itself would not amount to instigate or provoke the deceased victim to commit suicide. At the most, what is attributable to the applicant is that he has broken the relationship,” the judge said.
The bench also observed that neither the suicide note nor the WhatsApp chats suggest that the applicant man engaged in physical relations with the woman under the promise of marriage, nor that their relationship ended after a prolonged period.
“Moreover, the suicide by the deceased victim is not immediate result of the said broken relationship. The applicant denied to have love relationship with her in July 2020 itself and, thereafter, the deceased victim committed suicide on December 3, 2020. Thus, there was no proximity or nexus between two acts i.e. breaking of the relationship and the suicide,” the judge pointed out.
The bench discharged a 26-year-old man who had challenged the Khamgaon Sessions Court’s decision in Buldhana district, which had refused to release him from the case.
The Sessions Court had considered arguments made on behalf of the deceased woman’s father, who claimed that the applicant caused their daughter mental distress by maintaining a long-term relationship with her, abruptly breaking it off, and dating another woman. The court also referred to the suicide note left by the deceased, which described the long relationship and its end, causing her emotional turmoil.
In contrast, the applicant argued that the relationship was consensual and based on mutual love initially. He maintained that after the breakup in July 2020, the victim continued to stay in contact with him. He further asserted that he had never engaged in physical relations with her under a promise of marriage. He contended that his refusal to marry the woman could not be considered a valid basis for an abetment to suicide charge.
The High Court found merit in the applicant’s arguments and set aside the Sessions Court’s order.