30 yrs after wife’s death, Supreme Court acquits Haryana man of ‘abetment to suicide’ charge

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, February 29

Thirty years after his wife ended life by suicide, a Haryana man has been acquitted by the Supreme Court of abetment to suicide, saying “from the mere fact of suicide within seven years of marriage, one should not jump to the conclusion of abetment unless cruelty was proved.”

Setting aside the concurrent finding of guilt of accused Naresh Kumar, a Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said the two courts failed to apply the correct principles of law to the evidence on record on the subject of abetment to suicide.

“The criminal justice system of ours can itself be a punishment. It is exactly what has happened in this case. It did not take more than 10 minutes for this court to reach to an inevitable conclusion that the conviction of the appellant convict for the offence punishable under Section 306 of the IPC is not sustainable in law. The ordeal for the appellant started in 1993 and is coming to the end in 2024, i.e. almost after a period of 30 years of suffering,” the court said.

Married in 1992, Naresh had a daughter from the wedlock. Soon after marriage, he allegedly started demanding money from his in-laws to open a ration shop. His wife ended life by suicide on November 19, 1993. While his parents were acquitted by the trial court, he was convicted.

However, the SC acquitted him, saying, “The prosecution has not been able to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”