Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke observed that the relationship was consensual and ended in July 2020, months before the woman’s suicide in December 2020
GUWAHATI: The Bombay High Court's Nagpur bench recently ruled that refusing to marry someone does not amount to abetment of suicide, even if the refusal leads to mental distress. The court, in its ruling, discharged a 26-year-old man accused of abetting the suicide of a woman with whom he was in a nine-year relationship.
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Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke observed that the relationship was consensual and ended in July 2020, months before the woman’s suicide in December 2020. The court noted that the suicide note and WhatsApp chats revealed no evidence of provocation or coercion by the accused to instigate the woman to end her life.
“It is only a case of a broken relationship, which by itself would not amount to abetment to commit suicide,” the judge stated. The evidence further suggested that the two remained in contact after the breakup, contradicting claims of any instigation by the man.
The court also clarified that there was no indication that physical relations were established under a promise of marriage. Additionally, the time gap between the breakup and the suicide weakened any direct connection between the two events. “There was no proximity or nexus between breaking the relationship and the suicide,” the bench observed.
The accused had argued that the relationship was consensual and denied making any promise of marriage. He stated that his refusal to marry should not be treated as abetment to suicide.
Justice Joshi-Phalke found merit in these arguments and ruled in favour of the accused, stating that his actions did not amount to instigation or provocation.
