The Punjab and Haryana High Court emphasized that a woman cannot be coerced into marrying someone, regardless of their past intimate relationship. This statement came during a case in which a young man had tragically taken his own life after the woman he was involved with declined his marriage proposal.

The single-headed bench of Justice Gurbir Singh has granted anticipatory bail today to the woman who was charged on March 16 with abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code at a police station in Ludhiana.

After hearing the parties and going through the case record, including the suicide note, the Bench noted that the petitioner and the youth had an intimate relationship, which later grew strained. The woman’s family had made an application to the police in that regard, and they had reached a compromise on February 27. 

“It means February 27 onwards and even prior to that, there was no intimacy left between the petitioner and now-deceased Rahul. No overt act thereafter has been attributed to the petitioner. She is an unmarried girl, and no recovery is to be made from her. Custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not at all necessary,” Justice Singh said.

Justice Gurbir Singh, referring to the suicide note, noted that there was no evidence to suggest that the petitioner had any contact with the young man after February 27. While the seriousness of the offense is undoubtedly a crucial factor in deciding whether to grant or deny anticipatory bail, it remained a matter of debate whether the petitioner's actions played a direct role in causing the suicide in this specific case.

Justice Gurbir Singh stated that since the custodial interrogation of the petitioner was not necessary and her being an unmarried girl, without discussing the merits of the case, the present petition was allowed. He added, “The petitioner is directed to join (the) investigation as and when so required by the investigating agency. In the event of the petitioner joining (the) investigation, she shall be admitted to bail by the arresting officer or investigating officer.”