Bench finds no abetment; says scolding didn’t imply intent to cause suicide
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has discharged a man who was accused of driving a student to suicide by scolding him. The accused, who was in charge of a school and its hostel, had reprimanded the student following a complaint lodged by another schoolmate.
Subsequently, the student was found to have died by suicide, hanging himself in a room. A two-judge bench comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra observed that no reasonable person could have foreseen that a mere scolding would lead to such a tragic outcome. The apex court overturned a Madras High Court order that had refu-sed to discharge the teacher from charges under Section 306 of the IPC, which pertains to abetment of suicide. “Having considered the matter in its entirety, we find it a fit case for interference. As rightly submitted by the appellant, no normal person could have imagined that a scolding — based on a complaint by another student — would result in such a tragedy, with the student taking his own life,” the court said. The bench further noted that the scolding was a minimal action to acknowledge the complaint made against the deceased and to ensure that necessary corrective measures were taken. “In the considered opinion of this court, under the admitted factual circumstances, no mens rea (intention or knowledge of wrongdoing) can be attributed to the appellant — certainly not one amounting to abetment of suicide by the deceased,” the judgment stated. The appellant’s counsel argued that his client’s actions were justified and constituted no more than a disciplinary warning as a guardian to prevent recurrence of the alleged misconduct and maintain order in the hostel. It was also pointed out that there was no personal animosity between the appellant and the deceased.
