Supreme Court quashes abetment to suicide charges, orders reinvestigation due to flawed police inquiry.

The case of Ayyub & Ors vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. stems from the deaths of Ziaul Rahman and Tanu. Where, Ziaul Rahman was initially reportedly was assaulted by Tanu’s relatives due to their suspected relationship, and Ziaul Rahman subsequently died from those injuries, and Ayyub, the father of the decease Ziaul Rahman lodged a complaint against the Tanu's relatives and a chase was registered against them u/s 302 IPC.

Subsequently, Vijay, Tanu's cousin, registered a counter FIR against Ayyub and others for abetment of suicide of Tanu under Section 306 IPC. The charge mentioned that Ayyub and others held Tanu responsible for the death of Ziaul and subjected her to humiliation and eventual suicide. The High Court refused to acquit Ayyub and the others, which culminated in the appeal before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court heard a criminal appeal against a High Court order that had declined to quash proceedings against the appellants, who were charged with abetting suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.

The Court found discrepancies and one-side conduct in the police investigation. The court criticized the police investigation for leaning solely on the account of the complainant and not probing other possible reasons for Tanu's death. The court also noted the delay in registering the FIR about Tanu's suicide and that witness statements repeated the FIR verbatim.

The Apex Court faulted the police inquiry for being prejudiced and failing to take into account other reasons that could have caused Tanu's suicide, including anguish over Ziaul Rahman's death.

The Apex Court held that the charge-sheet did not contain the ingredients required to constitute an offense under Section 306 IPC. The court observed that the words allegedly spoken by the appellants were not such that they would necessarily lead Tanu to commit suicide.

While refering to its earlier judgment in case of Madan Mohan Singh vs. State of Gujarat and Another (Click to Download) the Apex Court held that "It has been further held that the intention of the accused to aid or instigate or to abet the deceased to commit suicide is a must for attracting Section 306 IPC" The Court referred to its recent judgment and held that "20. These principles have been reiterated recently by this Court in Mahendra Awase vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh (Click to Download), thus, the Court observe that holding the abetment entails a specific intention to bring about suicide, which was not present in this case.

Supreme Court observed some troubling features of the case that called for reinvestigation, such as the chronology of events, the timing of the counter FIRs, and the shallow nature of the police investigation.

Finally concluding the matter, Supreme Court held that proceeding with the trial on the basis of the current charge-sheet would be a gross abuse of the judicial process.

The Supreme Court granted the appeal and quashed the proceedings against the appellants. The court ordered the Director General of Police, Law and Order, of Uttar Pradesh to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in order to reinvestigate Tanu's death. The SIT was given the authority to treat the current FIR as a report of unnatural death and to re-register the FIR if the same was deemed necessary. The report of reinvestigation had to be presented to the Court within a period of two months. The court made it clear that its remarks were merely for quashing the proceedings and that the reinvestigation was to be carried out independently.

Coram: Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. V. Viswanathan
Case: Ayyub & Ors vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr
Judgment Date: 07-02-2025