In Brief
A woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste committed suicide after being harassed, terminated from her job, and having a fraudulent loan taken in her name by the respondent. The trial court framed charges against him for abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC. The High Court set aside the charges in its revisional jurisdiction. The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred by not applying the correct legal test for charge-framing. At that stage, the court need only determine whether prima facie grounds exist to presume the offence, not whether conviction is certain. The material on record—including the victim's dying declaration, multiple complaints, and evidence of harassment—sufficiently established abetment of suicide. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's discharge order, and upheld the trial court's charge-framing.
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