Wife Having Extramarital Affair May Not Be Guilty Of Abetting Husband's Suicide: Gujarat High Court Quashes FIR Against Woman, Partner

The Gujarat High Court has quashed the FIR lodged by a woman's mother-in-law, accusing her and her partner of abetting the suicide of her husband.

The Court observed that even if the contents of the FIR were accepted as true, it could not be established that there was any intention on the part of the accused to abet the commission of suicide by the deceased, who was the husband of the first accused. Consequently, the Court found no mens rea attributable to the accused, thereby ruling out the element of abetment required under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The single bench of Justice Diyesh A Joshi observed, “Even for the sake of arguments, if the contents of the FIR are to be accepted as it is, it cannot be said that there was any intention on the part of the applicants to abet the commission of suicide by the deceased, who is the husband of accused No.1 and therefore no mens rea can be attributed. Thus, in the opinion of this Court, the very element of abetment is missing from the allegations levelled in the FIR and in absence of the element of abetment from the allegations, the offence under Section 306 IPC would not be attracted.”

The Court relied on the precedent set in the case of K. V. Prakash Babu v. State of Karnataka, where the Supreme Court held that involvement in an extramarital affair by itself does not necessarily lead to a conviction under Section 306 IPC, although it could be a ground for divorce or other matrimonial reliefs.

Placing reliance on the above, the Court held, “the involvement of accused No.1 in an extra-marital affair with accused No.2 may not invite conviction under Section 306 IPC.”

Section 306 IPC states: Abetment of suicide: If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The ruling came in response to two Criminal Miscellaneous petitions seeking to quash the FIR that accused the applicants of offences punishable under Sections 306 and 114 of the IPC. The prosecution alleged that the complainant's son committed suicide after discovering his wife's extramarital relationship, which led him to take his own life.

The Court emphasised that while inherent powers should not be used to stifle legitimate prosecution, they could be exercised if continuing the proceedings would constitute an abuse of process or if the ends of justice required quashing the proceedings.

Thus, the Court opined, “the allegations in the first information report if taken at its face value and accepted in their entirety, they do not constitute the offence alleged and the chances of an ultimate conviction after full-fledged trial are bleak and continuation of criminal prosecution against the applicants accused is merely an empty formality and wastage of prestigious time of the Court.”

“I am conscious of the pain and suffering of the complainant, who is the mother of the deceased. It is also very unfortunate that the deceased has lost his life but as observed by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Geo Verghese (supra), the sympathy of the Court and pain and suffering of the complainant, cannot translate into a legal remedy, much less a criminal prosecution,” the court added while allowing the applications and quashing the FIR.

Appearance:

Advocates Bhavik R Samani, Aj Yagnik And Manoj Shrimali For The Applicants

Advocates H K Nayak, Rj Goswami, Ms Monali Bhatt (App), H K Nayak For The Respondents

Case Title: Dr.Rajeshkumar Somabhai Katara, Asst.Professor Microbiology Versus State Of Gujarat & Anr.

LL Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Guj) 121

Click Here To Read Judgement