Bombay HC grants pre-arrest bail to woman, partner in estranged husband's suicide case

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The Bombay High Court (HC) has granted pre-arrest bail to a woman and her alleged partner accused of abetting the suicide of her estranged husband, noting that there was no direct instigation or incitement.

A single bench of Justice RN Laddha in its order of October 17 said there is nothing to indicate that the accused duo indulged in a conduct of such a "compelling or oppressive nature" leaving the husband with no viable alternative but to resort to the extreme measure of suicide.

"It prima facie appears that the applicants did not take any definitive action that directly led to the deceased's tragic decision to end his life," the Bombay HC said.

According to news agency PTI, the Bombay HC bench in its order noted that the provision pertaining to the abetment of suicide requires the accused person's culpability to be more than mere speculation or conjecture in the absence of direct inducement or incitement.

"The abetment to commit suicide requires not merely the presence of circumstantial pressure but a direct and purposeful act of abetment or instigation," the Bombay HC said.

It added that the marital discord between the husband and the woman started well before he committed suicide, reported PTI.

The woman and her alleged lover had moved the Bombay HC seeking anticipatory bail in the case registered against them on a complaint by the suicide victim's father.

According to PTI, the father in his complaint claimed that his estranged daughter-in-law was involved in an extra-marital affair and that he had repeatedly urged his son to divorce her owing to her infidelity.

The complaint claimed that owing to this, the woman's husband suffered from emotional distress and in this turmoil he committed suicide in May.

The woman and her alleged partner in their pre-arrest bail plea said that they were implicated in the case. They contended that the couple had filed for divorce on mutual consent before the court as their marriage was already strained.

The husband, however, withdrew his consent to the divorce and had in May 2023 threatened to kill himself. The woman had then lodged a non-cognisable complaint against her estranged husband.

(With PTI inputs)