Bombay High Court Quashes Suicide-Abetment FIR Based on Lawful Complaints Filed Against Deceased

The Bombay High Court quashed an abetment-to-suicide FIR against an advocate who had filed multiple legal proceedings against a former cooperative-bank functionary.

What happened

The Bombay High Court quashed an abetment-to-suicide FIR against an advocate who had filed multiple legal proceedings against a former cooperative-bank functionary. The Court held that invoking lawful remedies against another person does not, without the necessary ingredients of instigation or intentional aid, become suicide abetment merely because that person later dies by suicide. The prosecution arose after the deceased allegedly referred to the advocate's complaints as harassment. Justice Rajesh Joshi warned that treating lawful complaints themselves as abetment could deter people from reporting suspected wrongdoing. The ruling applies the statutory requirement of a legally sufficient nexus between accused conduct and suicide.

Legal significance

The legal effect is confined to the present ruling or procedural development. Allegations and submissions are not treated as established facts.

What follows

The matter proceeds according to the operative judicial or statutory process described above.

Source: Original report