2024 Supreme(SC) 168

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
J.B. PARDIWALA, MANOJ MISRA, JJ.
Naresh Kumar – Appellant
Versus
State of Haryana – Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 1722 of 2010, Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 8873 of 2008
Decided On : 22-02-2024

IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Abetment of suicide – In order to convict a person under Section 306 of IPC there has to be clear mens rea to commit offence – Mere harassment is not sufficient to hold accused guilty of abetting commission of suicide.
(2) Abetment of suicide – In absence of any cogent evidence of harassment or cruelty, accused cannot be held guilty for offence under Section 306 of IPC by raising presumption under Section 113A of Evidence Act, 1872.

Headnote:

(A) Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Section 306 read with Section 107 – Abetment of suicide – Basic ingredients to constitute an offence under Section 306 of IPC are suicidal death and abetment thereof – In order to convict a person under Section 306 of IPC there has to be clear mens rea to commit offence – Mere harassment is not sufficient to hold accused guilty of abetting commission of suicide – It also requires an active act or direct act which led deceased to commit suicide – Ingredient of mens rea cannot be assumed to be ostensibly present but has to be visible and conspicuous – To prove offence of abetment, as specified under Section 107 IPC, state of mind to commit a particular crime must be visible, to determine culpability. (Paras 13, 18 and 22)

(B) Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Section 306 read with Section 107 – Indian Evidence Act, 1872 – Sections 113A and 113B – Abetment of suicide – Conviction and sentence – What ultimately led deceased to take such a drastic step of committing suicide is not clear – Mere demand of money from wife or her parents for running a business without anything more would not constitute cruelty or harassment – Had there been any clinching evidence of incessant harassment on account of which wife was left with no other option but to put an end to her life, it could have been said that accused intended consequences of his act, namely, suicide – Mere fact that deceased committed suicide within a period of seven years of her marriage, presumption under Section 113A of the Evidence Act would not automatically apply – Before presumption under Section 113A is raised, prosecution must show evidence of cruelty or incessant harassment in that regard – Court should be extremely careful in assessing evidence under section 113A for finding out if cruelty was meted out – If it transpires that a victim committing suicide was hyper sensitive to ordinary petulance, discord and differences in domestic life quite common to society to which victim belonged and such petulance, discord and differences were not expected to induce a similarly circumstanced individual in a given society to commit suicide, conscience of Court would not be satisfied for holding that accused charged of abetting offence of suicide was guilty – In absence of any cogent evidence of harassment or cruelty, accused cannot be held guilty for offence under Section 306 of IPC by raising presumption under Section 113A – Judgment and order of conviction passed by Trial Court as affirmed by High Court, set aside – Appellant acquitted of charge framed against him. (Paras 11, 20, 28, 29, 30, 33, 36 and 37)

(C) Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Section 306 – Abetment of suicide – No crime should go unpunished – But at the same time, guilt of accused has to be determined on the basis of legal evidence on record – In case of accusation for abetment of suicide, court should look for cogent and convincing proof of act of incitement to commission of suicide and such an offending action should be proximate to time of occurrence – Appreciation of evidence in criminal matters is a tough task and when it comes to appreciating evidence in cases of abetment of suicide punishable under Section 306 of IPC, it is more arduous. (Para 34)

Facts of the case:

Present appeal is at instance of a convict accused and is directed against judgment and order dated 03.09.2008 passed by High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh, in Criminal Appeal No. 762-SB of 1998, by which High Court dismissed appeal filed by appellant herein and thereby affirmed judgment and order of conviction passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Karnal, holding appellant guilty of the offence punishable under Section 306 of Indian Penal Code.

Findings of Court:

Criminal justice system of ours can itself be a punishment. It is exactly what has happened in this case. It did not take more than 10 minutes for this Court to reach to an inevitable conclusion that conviction of appellant convict for offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC is not sustainable in law. Ordeal for appellant started some time in 1993 and is coming to end in 2024, i.e. almost after a period of 30 years of suffering.

Result : Appeal allowed. Accused acquitted.