Indian Laws for Suicide: Legal Rights and Social Issues
Did you know that nearly one lakh Indians commit suicide every year? Shocking, isn’t it? But this is a fact. The suicide rates in India vary from state to state, depending upon literacy rate, socio-economic status, cultural background and so on.
Indian Laws for Suicide: Why People Consider Ending Their Life
There are many reasons why people decide to commit suicide. Typically, a number of social and individual factors compel a person to commit suicide, such as bankruptcy, family dishonor, divorce, dowry, failed relationships, cancellation or inability to get married, loss of job, failure in exams, cultural factors, socio-economic factors and even stress. For example, in Kerala, many suicides among young girls are attributed to jilted love affairs, rumors of family dishonor, involvement in sex scandals or failure to score the desired marks in exams and so on. The prevailing social conditions of each state play a vital role in triggering suicides among people of all ages.
While hearing a case pertaining to abetment of suicide in February 2010, the Delhi High Court stated that suicidal behavior in human beings are complex. The court observed, “Different individuals in the same situation react and behave differently because of the personal meaning they add to each event, thus accounting for individual vulnerability to suicide."
The court further stated, " Each individual's suicidability pattern depends on his inner subjective experience of mental pain, fear and loss of self-respect."
Indian Laws for Suicide: Indian Penal Code Treats Suicide Attempt as a Crime
In India, a suicide attempt has always been treated as a punishable crime. Under section 309, of the Indian Penal Code, an individual who attempts to commit suicide or act towards the commission of such offence shall be punished with an imprisonment up to 1 year or fine or both. As per Indian law, even abetment of suicide is an offence in India, that is punishable with a maximum sentence of ten years.
On August 12, 2010, the Supreme Court stated that an individual cannot be accused of abettting a suicide because abetment involves a mental process of intentionally helping or instigating a person to commit suicide. The judges, Justice Dalvee Bhandari and Justice K.S.Radhakrishnan stated that unless there is a clear act on the part of the accused to aid or to instigate another individual to commit suicide, it cannot be stated that he/she abetted in committing suicide.
However, suicide or the right to take one's own life is not considered to be a right in India. Indian laws for suicide do not accept this argument as the right to die is not part of an individual’s fundamental right to life. However, many debates have taken place to establish whether committing suicide is right or wrong. Many people argue that every individual shall have a right to not to live a forced life, unless he/she is violating others rights or causing any harm to any one.
I think supreme court have recently passed a judgement that stops criminalizing of suicide attempts. Please check.
@Harish - thank you for bringing this point to our attention. We have updated this article with the latest SC guidelines on determining the extent of abetment to suicide. However, an attempt to suicide remains an offense in India.
this is nicely to interpret of per se individual ;such sensing is subjective opening rather than objective so we would considered about our land of law which was enacted colonial period and as for as my perception that my criminalizing my rule of law and really it is very considerable self help group come under the picture to help such person who are not able to control such feeling by intelligence power ; we are living in social well state and what is function of him and if they are not able to do wale fare decision , what is meaning of it and sate have only authority to criminalized those people who are not able to mange of them self due to reason of some lacks .
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