The Supreme Court has quashed criminal proceedings against six accused in a case alleging abetment of suicide, holding that a refusal to marry, even if followed by suicide, cannot by itself be treated as abetment without the necessary intention or knowledge to drive a person to take the extreme step.
A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran passed the order on October 5, 2026, in an appeal arising from proceedings before the courts in Telangana.
Background
The allegations arose after a woman died by suicide at the house of the first appellant. According to the First Information Statement lodged by her sister, the woman had been in a consensual relationship with the first appellant and the two had lived together for around three months.
The allegation was that the first appellant refused to marry her after other family members and a friend allegedly expressed objections to the relationship. The prosecution case was that these circumstances amounted to instigation leading to her suicide.
The Supreme Court also noted that the relationship between the deceased and the first appellant had been consensual and that it was accepted by his family. The Court examined the circumstances surrounding the deceased being taken away from the appellant's house and the subsequent events before her death.
The Bench found no material showing that the accused had instigated the woman to end her life. It observed that people may react differently to a breakup and that suicide following the end of a relationship cannot automatically be characterised as abetment.
The Court stated:
"People react differently to situations and if a breakup ends up with suicide, it cannot always be termed an abetment to suicide. The refusal to marry was not with an intention to drive the woman to death by suicide nor can knowledge be attributed to the accused that on such refusal, she would commit suicide."
Concluding that the prosecution could not be sustained on the allegations presented, the Supreme Court quashed the proceedings in Sessions Case No. 101 of 2024 pending before the II Additional Senior Civil Judge-cum-Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Medchal-Malkajgiri District at Kushaiguda, Telangana.
The Court ordered that any accused in custody be released forthwith, unless required in another case, while bail bonds of those already on bail were directed to stand cancelled.
