The Supreme Court has quashed criminal proceedings against six persons accused of abetting the suicide of a woman following her partner’s alleged refusal to marry her, holding that refusal to marry, even when followed by suicide, does not by itself amount to abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the IPC.

A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran observed that people respond differently to difficult situations and that a breakup followed by suicide cannot automatically be treated as abetment.

The Court was hearing an appeal arising from criminal revision proceedings before the Telangana High Court. The case concerned a woman who was in a consensual relationship with the first accused. According to the prosecution, the two had lived together for around three months at his residence and their relationship was known to and accepted by his family.

The prosecution alleged that the first accused later refused to marry the woman, following which she died by suicide. Allegations were also levelled against five other persons, including the first accused’s parents, sister, a friend and his sister’s proposed bridegroom.

The FIR was registered on the basis of a statement given by the deceased’s sister. It was alleged that the other accused had influenced the first accused against marrying the woman.

The Supreme Court, however, found no material indicating that any of the accused had instigated the woman to take her own life.

“People react differently to situations and if a breakup ends up with suicide, it cannot always be termed an abetment to suicide,” the Court observed.

The bench further held that the refusal to marry was neither intended to drive the woman to suicide nor could the accused be presumed to have known that such a refusal would result in her taking her own life.

“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,” the Court said.

The Court added that even if the prosecution’s allegations were accepted in their entirety, they only established that the refusal to marry was followed by the woman’s suicide. There was no material to establish the necessary element of instigation or abetment.

“We are unable to find any instigation by the accused/appellants to drive the deceased to death by suicide. It was neither intended nor can it be said to be abetment,” the bench held.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court held that the criminal prosecution could not be sustained against the six accused and quashed the proceedings.