Mumbai: Acquitting a 39-year-old alcoholic man accused of abetting the suicide of his wife, a sessions court has said that merely the fact that he treated her cruelly is not enough, and there is no evidence that he instigated her to take her own life.
The wife, Mamta, had died by suicide on June 16, 2015. The court in its judgment mentioned the ingredients that constitute the offence under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code. It mentioned among them that the accused must have played an active role by instigation. It also mentioned among the ingredients that there must be proof of direct or indirect acts of incitement.
The victim’s family members had testified in court against Naresh Chavda. They told the court that he was harassing Mamta under the influence of liquor and would quarrel with her by suspecting her of having an affair. Addtional Sessions Judge NP Mehta said, “There is nothing in the evidence of prosecution witnesses that the deceased was left with no option but to commit suicide.”
The family members had also said that she had taken a loan to buy a bike for him and was thus getting less salary as the loan repayment amount would get deducted. The court said the man cannot be blamed for any loan she took and that there is nothing on record to show he forced or threatened her to take the loan.
“There is no material on record to indicate that there were some positive actions on the part of the accused close to the time of occurrence which compelled the deceased to take commit suicide,” the court said.
