Supreme Court Quashes Abetment of Suicide Case Against Mother Who Advised Son’s Lover
Last Updated on January 23, 2025 by Amit Patra
In a subtle interpretation of law, the Supreme Court acquitted the mother from criminal charges who asked her son’s lover to take her life if she could not live without him, as according to them her words did not amount to an offense of aiding and abetting suicide.
The bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and SC Sharma said abetment requires direct instigation, proximity to suicide and clear intent to provoke self-harm. The mother’s disapproval of the relationship and provocative statement were too remote and indirect, the court said, to constitute criminal instigation.
Key observations included that the mother’s family did not pressure the deceased, and a remark suggesting suicide does not necessarily amount to legal abetment. The Court emphasized the fact that abetment requires a positive act that creates an environment that definitively pushes someone towards suicide.
The judgment brings out the judicial distinction between expressing disapproval and legally culpable provocation, hence serving to give critical clarity on the interpretation of Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.
