Bandra Couple Discharged In Maid Suicide Case; Court Says Workplace Inconvenience Not Abetment
Mumbai: The sessions court has discharged a couple from Bandra booked for abetment of suicide of their maid in March 2023 over allegations of mistreatment, including that she was made to sleep on the floor. The court, while discharging the couple, said mere inconvenience to the deceased (at work) cannot be said to be a reason behind the act of suicide. According to the prosecution case, the…
A Bandra couple has been released from custody after being charged with abetting the suicide of their maid in 2023. The court ruled that merely causing inconvenience at work cannot be considered as justification for the act of suicide. The couple, Pankaj Kumar and Priyanka Kumar, were accused of mistreating their maid, Sarita Toppo, who worked as a domestic helper in their Beach View Apartment residence.
Sarita was said to have jumped from the building on March 19, 2022. The police initially reported it as an accidental death, but her relative filed a complaint leading to the couple's arrest. The prosecution argued that Sarita was not performing her duties properly, leading to her removal from the job. However, the defense team challenged these allegations, stating that the incident occurred just 12 days after Sarita's arrival in Mumbai.
Their lawyer, Dinesh Tiwari, argued that if the couple had decided to relieve Sarita, it could not be considered as ill-treatment. The court accepted the defense's contentions and dismissed the abetment of suicide charges, asserting that mere inconvenience faced by the deceased is not a valid reason for committing suicide.
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