Mohali court says quarrels do not amount to suicide abetment, acquits 3

A special CBI court in Mohali has acquitted three people of abetting the suicide of a truck driver in 2015, ruling that general harassment and quarrels without a direct act of instigation do not constitute abetment. Special judge Baljinder Singh Sra convicted Kuldeep Singh, Jatinder Singh and Surjit Kaur under Section 143 of the Indian Penal Code for unlawful assembly and fined them Rs 1,000 each.

The case began when the truck driver consumed poison outside the deputy commissioner's office in Fatehgarh Sahib. The victim's brother alleged that the accused had harassed and assaulted the driver for about a year. The dispute reportedly stemmed from an alleged affair between the neighbour's sons and a woman whose activities the victim tried to monitor. Witnesses testified to multiple violent clashes, including an assault on July 19, 2015, in which the victim suffered a stab wound.

The Punjab and Haryana high court transferred the investigation to the CBI in December 2016 after the complainant alleged mishandling by local police. The victim's suicide note, verified by a forensic examiner, described years of abuse and accused police of forcing him into compromises. However, the court found no evidence that any accused explicitly told the victim to end his life, citing Supreme Court precedent that abetment requires a direct, proximate act. Three other accused died before the trial's conclusion.