Abetment of suicide: Bail to victim’s family members

S. Shyam Prasad

Bengaluru: In a rather strange case of abetment of suicide of a family member, two out of the four accused were granted bail by the High Court. Interestingly, two witnesses in the crime are policemen. The victim, Govindaraju, had committed suicide by setting himself on fire in the middle of a quarrel with his wife. But it was his parents, brother and sister who were the accused in the case.

The accused in the case, Shanthamma, her husband Venkatesh, son Girish and daughter Roopavathi, all from Tumakuru approached the HC for bail. The four has been charged under Section 306 (Abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code which carries a punishment of up to 10 years imprisonment. Govindaraju, had married recently and his wife was carrying.

Roopavati, his sister, had married two years ago and does not have children. The family members of Govindaraju were allegedly insisting that Govindaraju terminate the pregnancy of his wife. They wanted Roopavati to become a mother first.

This allegedly led to frequent quarrels. On May 19, 2022, a quarrel over the same issue escalated which resulted in two policemen coming to their house to diffuse the situation. Govindaraju then went inside a room, poured petrol and set himself on fire. He succumbed to his injuries later.

Govindaraju’s wife filed a complaint and the two policemen present were the eyewitness to the incident. Justice Rajendra Badamikar, who heard the petition of the four family members, granted bail to the two women; the mother and daughter. But he refused bail to the father and son.

“The statement of complaint coupled with statements of Cw8, 21 and 22 (witnesses) consistently support these allegations. The mental attitude of a person is required to be considered when his family members all along insist for termination of the pregnancy of his wife and that too when he is newly married. Looking at these aspects at this juncture, there appears to be prima-facie material,” the HC said.

However, the court thought it fit to grant bail to the two women. “The evidence prima-facie establishes that there are material ingredients regarding abetment as regards the present petitioners. However, the allegation does disclose that petitioner No.4 (daughter) was not present at the spot when the alleged offence took place and allegation against her is that all along she used to pester the deceased. Further petitioner No.1 is the mother and she lost her son,” the HC said, partly allowing the petition.