KOCHI:A boyfriend will no longer be held liable for the messages expressing his love if his lover commits suicide.In a landmark judgment, the Kerala High Court said the messages exchanged between two love-struck teenagers could not be interpreted to mean the boy had instigated the girl to commit suicide. The court made it clear “in order to proceed against a person under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC, there has to be a clear ‘mens rea’ to commit the offence.”
The court issued the order while allowing the anticipatory bail plea of Badusha Nishad, 18, Thodupuzha. Badusha and a girl of his age, who committed suicide at her home Karumpallichira, were deeply in love. The boy was from a different community and the parents strongly believed her relationship with him would mess up her future. They gave her the ultimatum to sever her relationship with the boy. The girl’s parents confiscated her mobile phone and numerous restrictions were placed. They also warned the boy from continuing with the relationships. The girl later suspected the boy was showing diffidence and was traumatised. And she hanged herself.
The police registered a case. After examining the messages and call details, it was revealed the boy and girl had been in contact till the moment prior to her death.
‘Pain of parting would’ve led girl to take own life’
The teens had exchanged messages that one could not live with the other. When the girl asserted she would take her life, the boy responded in the same manner. The police booked the boy for abetment to commit suicide.
Counsel for the boy submitted he was threatened by the parents and relatives of the girl and he was asked to refrain from contacting the girl. He had no other go, but to impose self-restrictions. This had pained the girl, the petitioner submitted.
While opposing the bail plea, the prosecution submitted the boy had sent numerous messages to the deceased on the date of occurrence which incited and encouraged the deceased to take her own life. The court observed it was settled that abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in doing a thing. Abetment necessarily means some active suggestion or support to the commission of the offence. ‘Instigation’ is to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or encourage to do ‘an act’. “To satisfy the requirement of ‘instigation’, it’s not necessary that actual words must be used to that effect. It was also not necessary that in order to constitute ‘instigation’, the incitement must necessarily and specifically be suggestive of the consequence.” the court said.
In the present case, the boy was blinded by love and the girl also has responded in the same manner.
The messages exchanged between them cannot be interpreted to mean the boy had instigated the girl to commit suicide. The act of the boy did not reflect the requisite ‘mens rea’ on the assumption that the pain of parting would have led the deceased to take her own life.