No High Court relief for Mandya man booked for abetting live-in partner's suicide

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has refused to quash criminal proceedings against a Mandya man booked for abetting the suicide of his live-in partner. 

The court noted that besides shouting at the deceased woman after a fight — ‘Go and die’ and ‘Do whatever you want’ —, the accused possessed her nude pictures and allegedly extorted nearly Rs 50 lakh. The woman, a business analyst at a firm, killed herself on December 28, 2023, by jumping from the 6th floor of a building in Hebbagodi police limits, Bengaluru.

Her father later filed a police complaint, accusing G A Varun, who was living with his daughter, of torturing and blackmailing her. Police registered an FIR under IPC Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and later invoked sections 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act while filing the charge sheet. 

Challenging the proceedings in the high court, Varun argued that mere utterances/shouting cannot become abetment to suicide. He further submitted that the woman had gone into depression after suffering severe losses in the stock market and also had hypothyroidism, which caused her severe health issues. The Additional State Public Prosecutor placed before the court the FSL report of the pictures retrieved from the mobile phones of both the woman and the petitioner. He submitted that the petitioner must prove his innocence during trial as the report revealed that he possessed the woman’s nudes. He also stated that the petitioner had threatened her and extorted money near Rs 50 lakh. 

Justice M Nagaprasanna cited the Supreme Court judgements on abetment to suicide and noted that the top court held that proximity between the commission of suicide and alleged statement assumes significance.

The last person with whom the deceased had any communication was with the petitioner, Justice Nagaprasanna stated. 

“The digital trial — the contents of the phones, the FSL report and the testimonies recorded — do not allow this court to step into the shoes of the trial court. The plea that this is a case of mere scorned affection or a casual taunt cannot be countenanced when placed against the backdrop of deliberate humiliation and alleged extortion. The nuances and textures of this tragic narrative must be unfolded in a full blown trial. It cannot be forgotten that a young life has been extinguished in a manner that raises grave concern. It is for the trial court to examine the depth of betrayal, the extent of coercion and the veracity of the claims,” Justice Nagaprasanna said.