Bombay High Court has granted an interim protection to an architect against arrest who was booked for abetting the suicide of his lover’s husband. The bench noted that an extra -marital relationship should not be construed as a positive act to instigate the suicide of the husband.
Justice Sandeep Shinde cited M Mohan Case and 2011 judgment where Supreme Court has analysed all the requirements for abetment of suicide.
“The SC had held that abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in doing of a thing and without a positive act on the part of the accused to instigate or aid in committing suicide, conviction (for abetment to suicide) cannot be sustained,” the court said.
He further added, “The alleged relationship (extra-marital) prima-facie cannot be construed as a ‘positive act’ to infer that the applicant (the architect) either instigated and aided the deceased in committing suicide.”
46 year old Ashokbhai Gangar and the deceased wife were booked under the abetment to suicide charges. The court has granted him pre-arrest bail.
Gangar had moved the High Court to apprehend the arrest in connection to the FIR lodged against him.
A complaint was filed in Badlapur police station by the father of the deceased on September 15. The incident took place on September 3 and the complainant claims that a suicide letter was recovered where the deceased had mentioned about the his wife’s extra-marital affair as the reason behind taking this extreme step.
