Extra-Marital Relationship By Itself Doesn't Come Within Ambit Of Abetment To Suicide: Rajasthan HC Grants Bail To Husband

The Court said that solely because the husband is involved in an extra-marital relationship and there is some suspicion in the mind of the wife, that cannot be regarded as abetment for satisfying the ingredients of Section 306 IPC.

The Court was hearing a Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application filed by the Petitioner arrested and detained for the offences punishable under Sections 498(A), 306 of the IPC.

The bench of Justice Rajendra Prakash Soni observed, “Extra-marital relationship, per se or as such, would not come within the ambit of abetment. …solely because the husband is involved in an extra-marital relationship and there is some suspicion in the mind of wife, that cannot be regarded as abetment for satisfying the ingredients of Section 306 IPC.”

Senior Advocate J.S. Choudhary appeared for the Appellant and PP Narendra Singh Chandawat appeared for the Respondent.

Brief Facts-

The complainant (father of the deceased) lodged a report stating that his daughter was married to the accused and since the marriage, her in-laws had been harassing and beating her. The accused who is an alcoholic was involved in an illicit relationship with another woman. Despite this, his daughter tolerated everything for the sake of the family's honour and the complainant did not know these issues. The accused used to regularly beat and mistreat his daughter. One night brother of the accused called over the phone and informed him that his daughter had committed suicide. When he arrived at her in-laws' house, he suspected that she had been murdered and that the scene had been staged to appear as a suicide.

The Court noted that except for the alleged extramarital relationship that may be illegal and immoral, nothing has been brought out by the prosecution to show that the Petitioner had provoked, incited or induced the wife to commit suicide.

The Court noted, “…no doubt there is some evidence about the illicit relationship of the husband of deceased but in the absence of some other acceptable prima facie evidence on record, the ingredients of Section 306 of the IPC, which includes abetment to drive a woman to commit suicide, could not be found prima facie satisfied.”

Accordingly, the Court granted bail and allowed the Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application.