New Delhi, June 12: If the husband commits suicide
due to wife's illicit relationship, then the woman and her
parmour could be convicted for abetting the suicide, the
Supreme Court has ruled.
A bench of Justices Mukundakam Sharma and B S Chauhan
rejected the argument of the convict Dammu Sreenu that Section
306 (abettment to suicide) cannot be applied against him and
the deceased's wife.
Bitra Nagarjuna Rao of Andhra Pradesh committed
suicide on January 8, 1996, by hanging himself after informing
his brother that he was taking the extreme step as he felt
humiliated by his wife's illicit relationship with Damma
Sreenu, which was known to relatives and others.
On the basis of the deposition made by the relatives,
the sessions court, Guntur, convicted and sentenced Sreenu and
the deceased's wife to five years imprisonment under Section
306 IPC. The Andhra Pradesh High Court confirmed the sentence
in the case of Sreenu but reduced the sentence to one year in
the case of the wife.
Aggrieved Sreenu moved the apex court claiming he
cannot be charged with abetting the suicide merely because the
deceased suspected his illicit relationship with the wife.
Rejecting the argument, the apex court said the
evidence on record clearly indicated that there existed an
illicit relationship between the convict and the deceased's
wife, which drove Nagarjuna Rao to suicide.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, June 12, 2009, 21:01