Supreme Court quashes dowry death case over Toronto suicide, citing no evidence

The Supreme Court on Monday quashed a dowry death case against a man whose wife died by suicide in Toronto, Canada, ruling that calling her “stupid” and “useless” did not amount to cruelty or criminal intimidation, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Manmohan said no link had been established between the allegations against the man and his family and the woman’s death. It also observed that a spouse’s temperament could not be equated with criminal intimidation.

“To attract the rigours of Section 304B of the IPC, the prosecution has to prove that soon before her death, the woman was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry,” the bench said.

“In this aspect, the prosecution has failed to produce before this Court any cogent evidence or material that may substantiate its claim that the appellant made illegal demands for dowry and that the said demand had a reasonable nexus to the suicide committed by the deceased-wife. In absence of any evidence to support the allegation of demand for dowry, the offence under Section 304B cannot be attracted,” it added.

The court said judges must be extremely careful while dealing with such complaints and take a practical view of the circumstances in matrimonial cases. It said allegations must be examined carefully to prevent a miscarriage of justice and misuse of the legal process.

The couple married on January 3, 2021, and moved to Toronto in February 2022. On June 11, 2023, the woman died after jumping from the 22nd floor of the residential building where she lived with her husband.

A handwritten suicide note recovered from their apartment said she felt she had failed in life because she had been unable to find a job for more than a year.

Her father lodged a first information report at Satara police station in Aurangabad on June 30, 2023. The case was registered under Indian Penal Code provisions covering dowry death, voluntarily causing hurt, cruelty towards a woman and intentional insult, along with common intention. Provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act were also invoked.

The Supreme Court said the allegations by the woman’s father that the man and his family had subjected her to mental and physical cruelty and demanded dowry were not supported by evidence, PTI reported. It said the allegations of grievous hurt and criminal intimidation in the FIR were vague and general.

“The allegation that the appellant used to call the deceased ‘stupid’ and ‘useless’, even if accepted prima facie, cannot to any extent qualify as an offence of cruelty or criminal intimidation. At best, it reflects on the temperament of the husband, but it cannot be given a criminal colour so grave as to become the reason for the suicide of his wife,” the court said.

The bench also said the allegation that the man was short-tempered and scolded his wife over minor issues could not be sustained as there was no supporting evidence on record.

“A temperamental issue of a spouse cannot be equated with the offence of criminal intimidation or grievous hurt so as to make him criminally liable for the suicide of his wife as the same would tantamount to abuse of process of law, particularly when material in support of the same is conspicuous by its absence,” it said.

“We understand the plight and pain of the family members of the deceased who have gone through the tragedy of losing their daughter but the husband and the in-laws cannot be made to bear the brunt of the same without first demonstrating any act or omission on their part that coerced the deceased to such an extent that committing suicide was the only way out,” the bench added.

The court said merely alleging verbal and physical cruelty was not enough to initially presume that such conduct justified starting criminal proceedings.

“In cases involving allegations of cruelty and harassment, there would normally be specific offending acts, which the complainant would be required to spell out in specific terms against the perpetrators in order to implicate them in the criminal proceedings sought to be initiated,” the bench said.

“Mere general allegations of harassment, without specifics against such persons, would not suffice to continue criminal proceedings. This holds true even when the prosecution seeks to establish a reasonable nexus between the commission of suicide and the alleged harassment, cruelty and criminal intimidation,” it added.

The Supreme Court, therefore, quashed the case after finding no evidence connecting an alleged dowry demand, cruelty or intimidation by the man and his family with the woman’s suicide.- Ends