'Mere Refusal To Marry Won't Amount To Instigation Under S.107 IPC': Supreme Court Quashes Abetment Of Suicide Case

The Supreme Court held that a person’s mere refusal to marry, even if true, by itself would not amount to “instigation” as contemplated under Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code, and therefore the offence of abetment of suicide under Section 306 could not be sustained on that basis. In the case, a woman allegedly took her own life after the male respondent reneged on a promise to marry; the FIR registered under Section 306 IPC was quashed. The Court emphasised that to constitute abetment of suicide, there must be a direct and positive act of instigation or aiding the person to commit suicide — emotional distress alone does not suffice. (Live Law)