Neighbourhood quarrels involving heated exchanges do not amount to abetment of suicide: Supreme Court

New Delhi: Neighbourhood quarrels involving heated exchanges and physical scuffles do not automatically amount to abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan set aside the conviction of a woman sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Karnataka High Court for allegedly abetting the suicide of her neighbour in 2008.

The top court said intention of the accused to aid or to instigate or to abet the victim to commit suicide is a must for attracting Section 306 of the IPC.

"Though 'love thy neighbour' is the ideal scenario, neighbourhood quarrels are not unknown to societal living. They are as old as community living itself. The question is whether on facts there has been a case of abetment of suicide?" the bench said.

The apex court said it was not able to persuade itself to hold that when the appellant's family and the victim's family had heated exchanges, there was any intention to abet or to cause any member of either family to take their own life.

"These quarrels occur in everyday life, and on facts we are not able to conclude that there was an instigation on the part of the appellant to such an extent that the victim was left with no other option but to commit suicide," the bench said.

The top court was hearing a plea challenging an order of the Karnataka High Court which confirmed conviction of the accused under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code but acquitted her of the offence under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

In this case, a minor fight between the victim and the accused woman had spread over six months.

The victim, an educated woman who was working as a private teacher, could not sustain the alleged constant harassment by the accused and had taken the extreme step of committing suicide.