Section 306 IPC, relating to the offence of abetment of suicide, is as under:
“306. Abetment of suicide.—If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
In the case of Gurcharan Singh v. State of Punjab, (2017) 1 SCC 433, the Supreme Court held that the basic ingredients of Section 306 IPC are suicidal death and abetment thereof. To constitute abetment, intention and involvement of accused to aid or instigate commission of suicide is imperative. Any severance or absence of any of these constituents would militate against said indictment. Remoteness of culpable acts or omissions rooted in intention of accused to actualise the suicide would fall short of offence of abetment essential to attract Section 306 IPC. Contiguity, continuity, culpability and complicity of indictable acts or omission are concomitant indices of abetment. Section 306 IPC thus criminalises sustained incitement for suicide.
In the case of Common Cause v. Union of India, (2018) 5 SCC 1, the Supreme Court held that to constitute abetment, there must be course of conduct or action of intentionally aiding or facilitating another person to end life.
In another recent case, in M. Arjunan v. State, (2019) 3 SCC 315, the Supreme Court held that insulting deceased by using abusive language will not, by itself, constitute abetment of suicide. There should be evidence capable of suggesting that accused intended by such act(s) to instigate deceased to commit suicide. Unless ingredients of instigation/abetment to commit suicide are satisfied, accused cannot be convicted under Section 306 IPC.
In view of these and other judgments of the Supreme Court, in my opinion mere filing of a complaint against the victim may not be sufficient to constitute an offence of abetment to suicide under Section 306 IPC; more so, if the person filing the complaint was doing so in lawful exercise of his rights. It should be shown that the accused person had the intention of driving the victim to commit suicide by his abetment. So, ultimately, it will depend on the detailed facts and circumstances of the case, to see the intention of the accused and his complicity in the case.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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