Summary
The in-laws’ conviction for abetment of suicide could not stand on harassment alone. Their unchallenged acquittal of cruelty left a prerequisite for Section 113A’s presumption unproved; in any event, the facts rebutted the presumption because the necessary link or intention to assist suicide was absent.
Issues
- Whether Section 113A supported abetment despite the final cruelty acquittal and absence of the necessary link.
Held
- Section 113A requires suicide within seven years of marriage and cruelty by the charged husband or relatives. Even then the presumption is permissive, sensitive to all circumstances and rebuttable. (¶ 6–7)
- On these facts cruelty had not been established, and harassment was not enough to supply it. Alternatively the presumption was rebutted by absence of a link or intention to assist suicide; harassment alone did not establish abetment. (¶ 8–10)
Result
Appeal allowed; High Court judgment set aside and appellants ordered released if incarcerated.