In Brief
A teacher (Physical Training Instructor) in a school was prosecuted for abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC after a Class 9 student hanged himself. The student's mother alleged the teacher had harassed and insulted her son. The High Court dismissed the teacher's petition to quash the FIR. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that mere reprimand for bunking classes and reporting the matter to the Principal—undertaken in discharge of the teacher's legal duty—do not constitute abetment of suicide. The FIR lacked allegations of any specific act of instigation or intention to induce suicide. Consequently, the essential ingredients of Section 306 IPC were absent prima facie, warranting quashing of the FIR.
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