‘Quarrels do not amount to suicide abetment’: Mohali court acquits 3

The Fatehgarh Sahib residents have been convicted for unlawful assembly and fined ₹1,000 each with 15 days of simple imprisonment as an alternative if fines not paid

Holding that harassment, quarrels or discord, without a direct, active and proximate act of instigation, do not amount to abetment of suicide, a CBI court in Mohali acquitted three people of charges of abetting the suicide of a truck driver. The court convicted them for unlawful assembly.

The case dates back to 2015 when a truck driver consumed poison outside the deputy commissioner’s office in Fatehgarh Sahib. (Shutterstock)

The case dates back to 2015 when the truck driver consumed poison outside the deputy commissioner’s office in Fatehgarh Sahib. The victim’s brother stated in his complaint that neighbour Major Singh, his wife Surjit Kaur and their sons Kuldeep Singh and Jatinder Singh harassed and assaulted the victim for roughly a year before his death. The complaint also named Swaranjit Kaur, a relative of the family, and police officer Sohan Singh, who allegedly pressured the victim to drop his complaints against the family.

Special judge Baljinder Singh Sra acquitted Kuldeep Singh, Jatinder Singh, and Surjit Kaur of charges under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with abetment of suicide. The court convicted the three under Section 143, which covers membership in an unlawful assembly, and fined each of them ₹1,000, with 15 days of simple imprisonment as an alternative if fines not paid.

The Punjab and Haryana high court transferred the investigation to the CBI in December 2016 as the complainant accused the local police of mishandling the case. The CBI registered an FIR under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC and other relevant sections. It charged six people, including Major Singh, Swaranjit Kaur and Sohan Singh. All three died before the trial concluded, and the court abated the proceedings against them.

The victim left behind a handwritten suicide note addressed to the deputy commissioner, describing years of abuse and threats from his neighbours and accusing the police of forcing him into repeated compromises. A forensic examiner matched the handwriting on the note to the victim’s known writing samples.

The court stated that the note and testimony established a pattern of harassment and quarrels but fell short of proving that any accused intended to push the victim toward suicide. It cited Supreme Court precedent holding that abetment requires a direct, proximate act of instigation, not general harassment or strained relations between neighbours. The court noted that prosecutors could not produce a witness who heard any accused tell the victim to end his life.

The court did find enough evidence to establish that the accused had gathered as an unlawful assembly and assaulted the victim on multiple occasions, supporting the lesser offence under Section 143.