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Writer's pictureLead India
Mar 28, 20233 min read

Is Provoking Suicide A Criminal Activity ?

As per the Indian law, a person could be held accountable for provoking a person to commit suicide, in case the following conditions have been fulfilled-

  • he/she has instigated someone to commit suicide

  • he/she has taken part in some conspiracy to make someone commit suicide

  • he/she has helped the victim deliberately so that he could commit suicide by doing an act or doing something that he was bound to do

An abettor has been defined under Section 108 of the IPC. A person who abets an offence, abetting either the commission of a crime or the commission of such an act, which would have been an offence in case committed by a person capable by law of committing the crime with the same purpose or information as that of the abettor.


As provided under Section 306 of the IPC, if an individual commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, he/she will be punished with the sentence of either for a term extending up to a period of ten years and shall also be liable to fine.


Section 306 of the IPC-


As provided under the Section, any person who abets the commission of such suicide would be punished with an imprisonment of either a term extending up to ten years or fine.

  • Abetment of suicide is an offence which would be tried in a Sessions Court and is cognizable, non-compoundable and non-bailable in nature.

  • the arrest could be made even without a warrant from the court.

  • bail could be granted at the discretion of the court, but as a matter of right.

  • the case so filed cannot be withdrawn even when the complainant and the accused have reached a compromise. Withdrawal of a case involving a non-compoundable offence would not be allowed by the Court.



Scope of Section 306 of the IPC-

Abetment is a procedure in which there is a mental process of instigating an individual or intentionally aiding some person in committing a particular act. Provided under Section 306 of the IPC, there should be a lucid mens rea to commit the offence. There should be some direct act leading to the deceased to commit suicide seeing no alternative and such act must have been intended to put the deceased to such a point that he had to commit suicide.


As decided in the case of Gurcharan Singh v. State of Punjab, the necessary elements for the above mentioned provision are suicidal death and the abetment for it. For the offence of abetment, the intention as well as the involvement of the accused to aid or bring about the commission of suicide is very important.


Presumption of Abetment-

Provided under Section 113-A of the Evidence Act, 1872 , the provision of the Section could be understood as-

  • If a married lady commits suicide within a period of 7 years of her marriage

  • In case the husband or his relatives have previously charged her of committing cruelty as defined under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the court may raise presumption of the fact that the husband or such relative of her husband abetted the suicide.

Conclusion

From the above discussion it could be concluded that the abetment of suicide includes whether it is instigating the victim or aiding the victim in the commission of suicide. However, these laws should be interpreted not strictly in a confined manner and each case is dealt with with in accordance to the facts and circumstances of each case in order to ensure justice.


In case you face similar situations, you are advised to seek legal advice from experienced lawyers in hyderabad or lawyers in kolkata.


Lead India offers you a wide pool of experienced advocates who have been successfully handling cases related to criminal law as well as civil law. Thus, in order to seek free legal advice or talk to a lawyer online, you may contact us.



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