Supreme Court: Refusal to Marry Live-in Partner Not Abetment of Suicide

The Supreme Court on Monday held that refusing to marry a live-in partner, followed by the partner’s suicide, does not by itself amount to the offence of abetment of suicide without intentional instigation or knowledge that such refusal would have led to suicide.A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran made the observation while quashing criminal proceedings against six accused, including the woman's partner, his parents, sister and others. The Court observed that the allegations, even if accepted as stated by the complainant, did not establish any act of instigation by the accused to drive the woman to suicide.“People react differently to situations and if a breakup ends up with suicide, it cannot always be termed an abetment to suicide. The refusal to marry was not with an intention to drive the woman to death by suicide nor can knowledge be attributed to the accused that on such refusal, she would commit suicide,” said the Court.Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Vinod ChandranThe case arose from a 2022 First Information Report (FIR) registered under Section 306 read with Section 34 of the IPC (abetment of suicide with common intention). The prosecution alleged that the deceased woman and the first accused, who were childhood friends, were in a consensual relationship and had lived together at his residence for around three months.The prosecution further submitted that the woman's partner had proposed marriage, which was initially accepted by the decease