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16 Aug 2018 12:00pm

SC Upholds Conviction of Man accused of Abetting Wife's Suicide over Extra-marital Affair

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The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a man accused of abetting the suicide of his wife, who allegedly jumped into well within four months of her marriage due to her husband's extramarital affair.

The prosecution, representing the respondent state, stated harassment due to alleged dowry demand and cruelty meted out to the deceased-Kavitha because of his husband's illicit relationship to be the reasons for the suicide.

The prosecution had also produced before the bench of Justices R Banumathi and Vineet Saran an agreement executed by the accused Siddaling before the Panchayat in which he had admitted to be living with another woman and that was seen by his wife.

The accused Siddaling and his father had earlier been convicted by the trial court under Sections 498-A and 304-B r/w 34 IPC and Sections 306 r/w 34 IPC and Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

The high court, however, had partly allowed the appeal and acquitted the accused’s father of all the charges. The court maintained the order of conviction passed by the Trial Court under Sections 498-A and 306; but acquitted the accused for the other offences.

Girish Ananthamurthy, appearing for the accused, relying on SC judgments on this aspect, contended that abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or in any manner aiding that person in doing of the thing. However, the SC bench was not inclined to interfere with the concurrent convictions.

The bench upholding the High Court judgment, said:

“..It cannot be said that the appellant’s act of having illicit relationship with another woman would not have affected to negate the ingredients of Sections 306 I.P.C.”

The latest SC judgment is apparently contradictory to a 2015 judgment passed by the apex court in a similar manner, in which it was held that “mere evidence of extramarital relationship cannot amount to cruelty”.

 


Tagged: Extramarital Affair Suicide Section 306 IPC Section 498A IPC Supreme Court
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