In Brief
A surviving partner in a mutual suicide pact can be criminally liable for abetting the other's suicide under Indian law, the Supreme Court held. The case involved actress Pratyusha and her boyfriend Reddy, who both consumed pesticide in 2002; Pratyusha died while Reddy survived. The Court upheld Reddy's conviction under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide), holding that his participation in the suicide pact, combined with purchasing the poison and jointly consuming it, constituted intentional aid to the deceased's suicide. The Court rejected allegations of murder by strangulation or sexual assault, finding overwhelming forensic and medical evidence of death by organophosphate poisoning. A surviving partner's participation in a mutual suicide pact does not eliminate criminal liability.
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