The Allahabad High Court last week quashed a conviction order passed against a man from Uttar Pradesh for abetting his wife’s suicide, holding that separation from his wife cannot be abetment.
A person named Jagveer Singh alias Bantu had filed an appeal in the High Court and a bench of Justice Ajay Tyagi was hearing the matter. The petitioner had challenged the order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Pilibhit, holding him guilty under sections 498A and 306 of the Indian Penal Code for dowry death and abetment to suicide.
In December 2008, a written complaint was lodged by the grandfather of the deceased wife of the convict at the Jehanabad police station in Pilibhit. The complainant alleged that her granddaughter, who was married to the appellant Jagveer Singh in the present case, was poisoned to death.
On conducting the post-mortem of the complainant’s granddaughter, the doctors found aluminum phosphide poison in the viscera of the deceased. After the postmortem, a charge sheet was filed by Jehanabad Police against the appellant and his father under sections 498A and 304B of IPC and relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
According to the counsel for the applicant, the main premise of the case was the suicide note written by the deceased, which was found by the investigating officer from the room of the deceased.
The counsel further submitted that on the basis of the suicide note, the trial court had acquitted the father of the appellant and convicted the appellant under sections 306 and 498A of the IPC.
The High Court observed that the Trial Court found that the appellant was mentally torturing the deceased and created a situation for him to commit suicide by detaching him from his life. Thus, the trial court held him guilty of abetting the wife’s suicide.
The High Court, while setting aside the conviction, observed that the finding of the trial court was not in conformity with the established position of law with regard to abetment. According to the law, someone must have played an active role in the abetment act or taken special steps to facilitate the act of suicide.
Significantly, the High Court also said that in order to bring the case under Section 306 of the IPC, it has to be proved that the husband had abetted the deceased to commit suicide.
According to Jagveer’s counsel, the HC held that in the opinion of the court the cause cannot be abetment and there is nothing in the suicide note which makes him liable for the offense under section 306 of the IPC.
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