SC discharges hostel in-charge of abetting student's suicide

New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) The Supreme Court has discharged a Tamil Nadu school hostel in-charge, who was accused of abetting a student’s suicide.

A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra was dealing with an appeal challenging a decision of the Madras High Court, which had rejected the prayer to discharge the appellant for the offence of abetment to suicide under the Indian Penal Code’s Section 306.

The appellant’s counsel contended before the apex court that the appellant had scolded the deceased, due to which the latter had locked himself in a room and hanged himself with a nylon rope. It was argued that the response of the appellant, being the correspondent and in charge of running a school and hostel, was justified, and it was just a chiding as a guardian to ensure that the deceased did not repeat the offence, and there was peace and tranquillity in the hostel.

It was further submitted that there was nothing personal between the appellant and the deceased, and such reprimanding was meted out to the deceased only on a complaint by another student.

The appellant was accused in an FIR registered by the state police CB-CID for the offences punishable under Sections 306 IPC (abetment to suicide) and 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, charges were framed against him under Section 306.

Before the apex court, the counsel representing the Tamil Nadu government “fairly” stated that there did not appear to be any valid ground for charging the appellant for abetment to suicide.

In its order, the Supreme Court noted that despite valid service of notice, the complainant, the father of the deceased student, did not appear in the proceedings before the top court.

“Having considered the matter in its entirety, we find it a fit case for interference. As has rightly been submitted by learned senior counsel for the appellant, no normal person could have imagined that a scolding, that too based on a complaint by a student, would result in such tragedy due to the student so scolded taking his own life,” it said.

The apex court added that such scolding was the least a correspondent was required to do, to ensure that the complaint made against the deceased by another student was taken note of and remedial measures effected.

After considering the factual position, the top court, in its considered opinion, found that no mens rea can be attributed to the appellant with regard to the abetment of suicide committed by the deceased.

Allowing the appeal, it directed that “the order framing charge against the appellant under Section 306 of the IPC in connection with FIR No.01/2024 registered by CBCID stands set aside. The appellant stands discharged in the said case”.

–IANS

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