India News | Maha: Court Acquits Teacher of Abetting Student's Suicide

Palghar, Jan 19 (PTI) A court here in Maharashtra has acquitted a 35-year-old school teacher of charges of abetting the suicide of a teen-aged student in 2014.

In an order issued on January 15, a copy of which was made available on Monday, additional sessions judge S S Gulhane said questioning a student does not amount to abetment of suicide.

The judge also said that the prosecution failed to prove the charge under Indian Penal Code Section 305 (abetment of suicide of person below 18 years of age) against the accused, a mathematics teacher at an ashram school located in Talasari taluka of Palghar.

According to the prosecution, the victim, who was studying in Class 10 at the school, allegedly hanged himself from the ceiling of his house in Talasari.

Some of his classmates later told the boy's father that when the accused teacher had enquired about marks of students in the maths exam, the victim lied to say he got more marks, though he had actually received less marks.

The teacher then enquired if his father had asked him to tell the lie. He also asked the boy to call his father to school, but the victim refused to do so.

The teacher then asked the victim and other students who had lied about their marks to go to the headmaster.

According to the prosecution, the victim felt humiliated by the teacher's questioning and committed suicide.

In his order, the judge said the accused's act of askingthedeceasedabouthisfather (if he asked him to tell the lie)andto call the latter to school does not amount to abetment of suicide.

"Thereis nomens rea (intention) on part of the accused to abet the deceasedtocommitsuicide," he said.

Beingateacher,itishisjob to scold the students who tell lies, the judge said.

Thestatementof theaccused"is not an instigation and isalsonotanintentionalaidtocommit suicide", the court said in its order.

It is necessary for the prosecution to establish that by hisacts,theapplicant/accused could reasonably foresee that because of his conduct, the victim was almost certain, or atleastquitelikelytocommit suicide, the judge said.

"Unless this is established, a person cannot be charged ofhavingabettedcommissionofsuicide,evenif the suicide has been committed as a result of some of the acts committed by the accused," the court said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)