Extramarital affair not ground for abetment to suicide charge, says SC | India News
NEW DELHI: If a spouse in an extra-marital relationship commits suicide due to relationship strain, there cannot be a basis for prosecuting the partner, the SC said on Thursday, requiring an affirmative act of inducement to induce suicide.A bench of Justices KV Viswanathan and Atul Chandurkar said that to sustain a charge under Section 306 of the Penal Code, the accused must contribute to the intention to commit suicide by direct or indirect acts. Persuasion requires an active action that leaves no other option than to take the life of the deceased.Dismissing a case against a man for allegedly having an affair with the deceased’s wife, the SC said if the illicit affair was assumed, men were absent for abetting the suicide. “There is no allegation that the appellant induced her to commit suicide or did any act or illegal omission to commit suicide,” the bench said.The apex court set aside an order of the Chhattisgarh High Court allowing the trial on the ground that the deceased was upset over his wife’s alleged affair. It rejected the prosecution’s plea that the insult in the presence of his partner amounted to incitement.But the relief is only for the man, as the deceased’s wife is also an accused, not challenging the trial against him. “There should be some element to indicate a positive act of incitement,” the SC said, adding that such incitement must be close to a suicidal act to establish a clear nexus.
