In a recent ruling, the High Court of Bombay emphasized that simply demanding money does not amount to instigating or abetting suicide. This judgment was made in response to a case involving Arunarani R Poddar, a resident of Vasai, who was accused of abetting the suicide of her partner.

A bench of Justice Prakash D Naik & Justice N R Borkar held, “Mere demand of money would not constitute instigation or abetment to suicide. There should be intention to provoke, instigate, or encourage the doing of an act by the latter".

The case was set in motion when Sunil B. Bishnoi, the brother of the deceased, lodged a report on March 5, 2022, with the Navghar Police Station. The deceased, who had been romantically involved with Poddar, left behind a suicide note citing Poddar's persistent demands for money as the reason for his decision to take his own life. Furthermore, voice messages obtained during the investigation corroborated the assertions made in the suicide note.

Poddar contended that even if the accusations were accurate, they failed to meet the legal criteria for constituting an offense under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC. The defense pointed out inconsistencies between the contents of the suicide note and the voice messages, and emphasized a notable time gap between the last communication and the act of suicide.

The Court acknowledged the relationship between the deceased and Poddar and observed that her requests for money were mainly for daily expenses. Emphasizing that for an offense under Section 306 to be proven, there must be substantial evidence of intent to provoke or instigate suicide, along with a close temporal connection between the alleged instigation and the act of suicide.

As a result, the court concluded that the prosecution had not successfully established a prima facie case against Poddar. Consequently, the proceedings were quashed and set aside.