New Delhi, October 8: The Supreme Court has held that ending a relationship or refusing to marry does not, by itself, amount to abetment of suicide, even if the partner subsequently dies by suicide.

A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran made the observation while quashing criminal proceedings against six accused, including the deceased woman’s live-in partner, his parents, sister and others, in a case from Telangana.

The court said there was no material on record to establish that the accused had intended to drive the woman to suicide or had knowledge that their refusal to marry would compel her to take her own life.

“People react differently to situations, and if a breakup ends up with suicide, it cannot always be termed an abetment to suicide,” the bench observed.

According to the prosecution, the woman and the first accused were childhood friends and had been in a consensual relationship. They reportedly lived together for around three months. Though the accused had initially agreed to marry her, he later refused to do so, allegedly following pressure from his family and others.

The woman subsequently told her sister that she would end her life if the marriage did not take place the following day. Later, following an altercation at the accused’s residence, she allegedly locked herself inside a room and died by suicide.

The trial court and the Telangana High Court had earlier refused to terminate the criminal proceedings. However, the Supreme Court, after examining the allegations, held that even if they were accepted in their entirety, they did not establish the necessary elements of instigation or intentional conduct required to constitute abetment of suicide.

“At worst, even if we fully believe what has been stated by the first informant, there was a refusal of marriage, which led to the woman committing suicide,” the court said.

The bench held that the allegations did not make out an offence of abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Consequently, the Supreme Court quashed the criminal proceedings against all six accused, reiterating that a refusal to marry or the breakdown of a relationship, without evidence of intentional instigation or conduct aimed at driving a person to suicide, cannot automatically attract criminal liability for abetment of suicide.