Sonu Mehtha
“The Law does not expressly permit Suicide and what it does not permit it forbids”, says Aristotle.
Whether or not Committing Suicide is a punishable offence under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) is a debatable question. Section 309 of the IPC subjects a survivor with up to one year of imprisonment or fine or both. Interestingly, the term ‘Suicide’ has never been defined in any statute including the IPC. However, it can be simply understood that suicide is the act of voluntarily destroying one’s life with the will to do it being conscious of the consequence.
Even after about 160 years of enforcement of the IPC and several recommendations by the Law Commission of India in the 42nd and 210th reports, attempt to suicide was not decriminalized under the IPC. Recently in countries like United States of America & Canada – people refer to the act of suicide as “died by suicide” rather than “committed suicide” in order to distinguish the act from that of a crime. However, in India suicide is frowned upon by the Penal Laws.
For the very first time, this subject was under scrutiny before the Apex Court in the case of P. Rathinam v. Union of India. The Division Bench consisting of two judges of the Supreme Court held Section 309 to be ultra vires the Constitution and the fundamental right enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution. This decision was overruled by a Division Bench of three judges of the Supreme Court in Smt. Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab. The court held that Section 309 was neither violative of Article 21 nor Article 14 of the Constitution.
Later on, the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (MHA) attempted to restrict the scope of Section 309 of the IPC but however Section 309 still remains intact under the Code. The MHA under Section 115 (1) attempts to protect the subjects of severe mental stress who are suicide survivors. Even though, attempt to suicide remains to be a crime under the IPC, the MHA has to a huge extent relaxed the implications of committing/ dying by suicide.
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