Legal action, even ‘false’ FIR, not instigation to suicide: SC
A person cannot be held criminally liable for abetment merely because someone against whom the person initiated legal proceedings subsequently dies by suicide, the Supreme Court has held in a recent order, underlining that every individual has a steadfast right to take recourse to appropriate proceedings under law to protect their rights
The Supreme Court has ruled that initiating legal proceedings, such as filing an FIR, cannot be considered instigation to suicide, even if the person subsequently takes their own life. The court emphasized that every individual has the right to seek justice through legal proceedings to protect their rights. In the case of a woman who lodged a domestic violence FIR against her husband, the court quashed the criminal proceedings against her parents and brother, who had accused them of abetting the husband's suicide.
The bench stated that setting the criminal justice system in motion is not sufficient to constitute instigation to suicide. The court examined the suicide note of the deceased and found that while he blamed his accusers, he did not allege any acts of instigation or harassment that would compel him to commit suicide. The court rejected the argument that the appellants could be held liable for abetment to suicide based solely on their decision to initiate proceedings against their daughter's husband.
The bench noted that such proceedings could be either bona fide or mala fide and that the determination of their legitimacy rested with the courts. The court also observed that the appellants were living separately from the deceased and could not have exerted an overbearing influence on him to drive him to suicide. Additionally, the court acknowledged that the deceased's own guilt complex may have contributed to his decision to end his life, but it refrained from deciding the actual reason for his suicide.
Consequently, the Supreme Court set aside the high court's order of September 2025, quashing the FIR registered against the appellants and all consequential proceedings.
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