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Can a breakup be considered abetment to suicide under criminal law? The Delhi High Court says heartbreak alone cannot amount to instigation. The court made the observation while granting bail to a man accused after his former partner died by suicide.
The Delhi High Court says heartbreak alone cannot amount to instigation.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has observed that merely breaking up with a partner cannot automatically be treated as instigation for suicide under criminal law. The court made the observation while granting bail to a man accused of abetting the suicide of his former partner.
Justice Manoj Jain passed the order while hearing the accused’s bail plea in a case where a woman allegedly died by suicide days after the man married another woman.
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According to the court order, the woman died by suicide after hanging herself in October 2025. The accused was arrested in November 2025 following allegations that he had abetted her suicide.
Granting bail, the court directed that the accused be released on a personal bond and a surety bond of ₹25,000 each.
The court noted that for a charge of abetment to suicide, there must be clear evidence of instigation or provocation that leaves the victim with no option but to take the extreme step.
The court also observed that the couple had been in a relationship for nearly eight years and there had been no complaints from the deceased during that period.
It further pointed out that there was a significant time gap between the period when the couple stopped communicating and the date of the woman’s death.
The judge said that whether the suicide occurred due to provocation, personal sensitivity, or other reasons could only be determined during the trial.
The father of the deceased had alleged that the accused pressured his daughter to convert to his religion for marriage, which pushed her to take the extreme step.
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However, the court noted that statements from the woman’s friends suggested she was upset but did not mention any pressure related to religious conversion. The court also took note of the accused’s claim that the woman’s parents opposed their relationship because they belonged to different religions and had forced her to end the relationship.
Observing that heartbreak and relationship breakups are increasingly common, the court said such situations alone cannot be treated as abetment under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) without clear evidence of instigation.
