'No Evidence of Abetment': Delhi HC Upholds Acquittal of Wife, Family Members in Husband’s Suicide Case

The Delhi High Court has recently upheld the acquittal of a wife and her family members in a case involving the alleged abetment to suicide of her husband.

While doing so, a bench led by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said, “In the absence of any evidence of there being any kind of instigation, encouragement or aiding on the part of the Respondents No. 2 to 6, it cannot be said that they were guilty of any act, which could be termed as abetment to drive the deceased to commit suicide.”

The High Court was dealing with an appeal filed by the deceased husband’s father, challenging the judgment passed by the trial court, which had acquitted the wife and her family members of the offences punishable under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Upholding the trial court’s verdict, the HC held, “There are general allegations of continuous threats of false implication in dowry cases. It may be a case where the deceased was unhappy and dejected with his marriage, but definitely, no act of abetment can be made out either from the suicide note or from the testimony of the parents.”

The deceased husband, Vijay Singh, had married Urmila on April 17, 2008. The parents of the deceased husband alleged that the couple initially lived peacefully, but over time, Urmila began quarrelling with her husband and his family members.

In May, Vijay Singh died by suicide. The police received information about the incident and reached the spot, where his death was confirmed. A day later, his father handed over a suicide note to the police, in which Vijay accused his wife and her family of harassing him and driving him to take the extreme step.

Following this, the police conducted an investigation, filed a chargesheet, and charges were framed. During the trial, the prosecution examined 18 witnesses, the most significant being the father of the deceased.

He claimed that a quarrel had taken place between the deceased and his wife just before the suicide. He also stated that the suicide note recovered from his son was in the latter’s handwriting, which was later confirmed by a handwriting expert during the investigation.

However, the trial court acquitted all the accused. Aggrieved, the father filed an appeal alleging that the suicide note indicated his son ended his life due to harassment by his wife and in-laws.

While examining the matter, the High Court said that the suicide note was undated and handed over to the police only the next day. The Court said,” The possibility of this suicide note having been written on some earlier date out of dejection cannot be ruled out. The note neither spells out any circumstance that can be labelled as abetment on the part of the Respondents nor does it disclose any proximate reason for the suicide.”

It was noted that the deceased's parents had deposed that the wife often quarrelled and threatened to falsely implicate the family in dowry cases.

They further alleged that she had made multiple suicide attempts herself, once locking herself in the kitchen, threatening to burn herself, and on another occasion, consuming acid that required extended medical treatment.

In view of this, the judge said,” The testimony of PW 1 and PW 2 rather shows that Urmila at Dhandevi had certain issues in the matrimonial home, and it is she who had been attempting to commit suicide. Her attempt to commit suicide only reflects her mental state and unhappiness, but it establishes no act that can be termed as cruelty towards the appellant and his family.”

Reiterating its findings, the bench said, “The only allegation being made was that the wife, Urmila, used to threaten the deceased, Vijay Singh, that he and his family members would be implicated in a false dowry case, and that she also got those threats extended through her brothers. Such vague assertions cannot be sufficient to prove abetment without there being any specific incident or dates.”

Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the appeal.

Case Title: SHIV SHANKAR Versus STATE

Read the judgment here: