Asking someone to 'go and die' is not abetment to suicide: Karnataka High Court

Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court has upheld the acquittal of three persons from Hirekerur town, Haveri district in an abetment to suicide case registered in January, 2014. Justice G Basavaraja observed that even if the prosecution story is accepted that the accused did tell the deceased to go and die, that itself does not constitute the ingredients of instigation.

The prosecution case was that the deceased Sudha and her husband Nagaraj were staying in the same house of the accused persons Ramappa, his son Suresh and daughter-in-law Swaroopavva. Ramappa, who is the grandfather of Nagaraj, had allegedly informed Sudha to vacate the house, as the house belonged to him. When Sudha apparently asked as to where she and her husband should go after vacating the house, the accused told her to go somewhere and die.

Further, on January 8, 2014, the accused allegedly abused Sudha and when she claimed the house belonged to her husband's grandfather, the accused assaulted and pulled her saree. Around half an hour later, Sudha poured kerosene on herself and set herself on fire.

Sudha died in the hospital due burns on January 9, 2014 while undergoing treatment. The Hirekerur police filed the chargesheet against the accused persons for abetment to suicide, criminal intimidation and other offences and on July 22, 2017, the Sessions court at Haveri acquitted them.

Challenging this acquittal, the police argued that the trial court failed to consider the evidence pertaining to harassment regarding eviction, the assault and insult meted out to the deceased by the three accused.

Justice Basavaraja noted that the investigating officer had not taken any steps to record the dying declaration through the Tahasildar/Taluka Executive Magistrate before the death. On the contrary, in her examination-in-chief the Investigating Officer stated that she submitted a requisition to the Tahasildar, Davanagere to send the dying declaration recorded by the Tahasildar to the JMFC Court, Hirekerur.

“Even if we accept the prosecution story that the accused did tell the deceased to go and die, that itself does not constitute the ingredients of instigation. The word “instigate” denotes incitement or urging to do some drastic or inadvisable action or to stimulate or insight. The presence of mens rea, therefore, is the necessary concomitant of investigation. It is common knowledge that the words uttered in a quarrel or in a spur of the moment, cannot be taken to be uttered with mens rea and is only in a fit of anger and emotion,” the court said.