Source: Supreme Court

Why in News?

Justice Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal have observed that ‘Instigation must be in close proximity to the act of committing suicide’.

• The Supreme Court gave this judgment in the case of Mohit Singhal v. State of Uttarakhand.

What is the Background of Mohit Singhal v. State of Uttarakhand?

• The widow of the deceased had borrowed a sum of Rs.40,000 from Sandeep Bansal and later another sum of Rs.60,000. A legal notice was served by Sandeep regarding dishonored cheques to the deceased.
• The deceased due to this committed suicide on July 4, 2017. The prosecution relied on a suicide note written by the deceased on June 30, 2017.
• The High Court rejected the plea to quash the offence, allowing the case to proceed.
• The court emphasizes that for abetment, there must be a specific act of instigation with mens rea, pushing the deceased to a point where suicide becomes the only option.
• The alleged acts of the accused took place over two weeks before the suicide, and there was no evidence of subsequent contact or instigation in close proximity to the suicide and was concluded that the acts of the accused did not amount to instigation under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC).
• The court allowed the appeal and quashed the summoning order, observing that the continuation of the prosecution will be "nothing but an abuse of the process of law”.

What were the Court’s Observations?

• To attract the first clause under Section 107 of IPC, there must be instigation in some form on the part of the accused to cause the deceased to commit suicide. Hence, the accused must have mens rea to instigate the deceased to commit suicide.
• The act of instigation must be of such intensity that it is intended to push the deceased to such a position under which he or she has no choice but to commit suicide. Such instigation must be in close proximity to the act of committing suicide.

What are Sections 107 and 306 of the IPC?

• Section 107: Abetment of a thing.
  • A person abets the doing of a thing, who:

(1) Instigates any person to do that thing; or

(2) Engages with one or more other person or persons in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing, if an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy, and in order to the doing of that thing; or

(3) Intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing.

• • Explanations:

(1) A person who, by willful misrepresentation, or by willful concealment of a material fact which he is bound to disclose, voluntarily causes or procures, or attempts to cause or procure, a thing to be done, is said to instigate the doing of that thing.

Illustration: A, a public officer, is authorized by a warrant from a Court of Justice to apprehend Z, B, knowing that fact and also that C is not Z, willfully represents to A that C is Z, and thereby intentionally causes A to apprehend C. Here B abets by instigation the apprehension of C.

(2) Whoever, either prior to or at the time of the commission of an act, does anything in order to facilitate the commission of that act, and thereby facilitates the commission thereof, is said to aid the doing of that act.

• Section 306: Abetment of suicide.
  • If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.