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Velladurai v. State represented by the Inspector of Police

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 477Decided 14 Sept 2021
Criminal Appeal No. 953 of 2021
Justice M.R. Shah · Justice Aniruddha Bose

Background

The appellant had been married to the deceased for 25 years, and they had three grown children. On the day of the incident, the couple quarrelled and both consumed pesticide; the appellant survived but his wife died. He was prosecuted and convicted under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide) on allegations that he harassed her over an alleged affair. The trial court sentenced him to seven years' rigorous imprisonment, and the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) upheld the conviction while reducing the sentence to three years.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that abetment under Section 306 IPC requires the accused to have played an active role in instigating the suicide, not merely that harassment or a quarrel occurred. It found no evidence that the appellant instigated or facilitated his wife's suicide: on the contrary, he himself had consumed pesticide alongside her. The alleged affair that supposedly caused recurring quarrels was never proved by the prosecution, and a key witness (the couple's daughter) turned hostile. Finding no material establishing active instigation, the Court held both lower courts erred in convicting him, quashed the conviction and sentence, and allowed the appeal, discharging his bail bonds.

Lesson Learnt

A conviction for abetment of suicide cannot rest merely on proof that a quarrel or harassment occurred before the death: the prosecution must show the accused took some active, instigating step that left the deceased with no option but to end their life.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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