CBI Secures Rare Conviction In Medical Student's Abetment To Suicide Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation has secured a conviction in an 'abetment to suicide' case - widely seen as one of the most difficult to prove - after a court in Puducherry sentenced a man, Pradeep, to five years' rigorous imprisonment over the 2012 death by suicide of Priyadarshini, a MBBS student.

What Was The Priyadarshini Suicide Case?

The CBI argued Pradeep broke up with Priyadarshini, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district, and sent a text casting aspersions on her character. The agency said the message - recovered by a team of forensic scientists from Chennai - had led to the young woman killing herself.

The CBI had registered the case in April 2015 on orders from the Madras High Court after being directed to take over a complaint registered at Puducherry's Thirubuvanai Police Station.

The chargesheet was filed in November 2017.

The complaint was registered by Priyadarshini's father and it alleged that the young woman - a fourth year student at a medical college and a hostel resident - was in a relationship with Pradeep.

The father claimed Pradeep later started avoiding her and this led to differences between them, and that the fateful message sent by the former and led to his daughter dying by suicide in May 2012.

Priyadarshini's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel room.

Why Are 'Abetment To Suicide Cases' Difficult To Prove?

According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau for 2021, the conviction rate in such cases is less than 20 per cent. To secure a conviction in an 'abetment to suicide case', the prosecution must prove intention of the accused to force a person to commit suicide.

This intention, or mens rea, must be proven beyond doubt. 

What Did The Supreme Court Say About These Cases?

In October last year the Supreme Court held there must be proof of direct or indirect acts of incitement, and evidence of continuous harassment, against the accused in an abetment to suicide case.

The court made the observations as it acquitted a Chennai-based doctor and his mother who had been convicted by a lower court of driving the former's wife to death by suicide.

READ | For Abetment Of Suicide, There Must Be Proof Of Incitement: Supreme Court

The court directed judges to "bear that in cases of alleged abetment of suicide, there must be proof of direct or indirect acts of incitement to the commission of suicide" and noted action could not be taken on allegations of harassment "without any positive action proximate to the time of occurrence on the part of the accused which led or compelled the person to commit suicide..."

Another Example Of Abetment To Suicide Case

Last month ex-Haryana minister Gopal Kanda was acquitted in a similar case - the death by suicide of airhostess Geetika Sharma. Special Judge Vikas Dhull also acquitted a co-accused Aruna Chadha in the case, saying the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond all reasonable doubts.

This was despite the fact Ms Sharma had named the former minister in her suicide note.

READ | Haryana MLA Gopal Kanda Cleared Of Charges In 2012 Airhostess Suicide Case

The court had also held the prosecution must prove, beyond doubt, that the accused had instigated the death in question and that that instigation must be the proximate cause of the suicide.