In Brief
A woman employed at a bank committed suicide after consuming poison. In her dying declaration, she alleged that the respondent had molested her, harassed her into job loss, and fraudulently obtained a loan in her name. The investigating officer filed charges under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide) and the SC/ST Atrocities Act. The High Court discharged the respondent, finding insufficient evidence of provocation or incitement. The Supreme Court allowed the State's appeal, holding that the High Court failed to apply the correct legal test at the charge-framing stage. The material on record—the dying declaration, multiple complaints, fraudulent loan, wrongful termination, and eviction—was sufficient to frame charges; no conviction-level proof is required at that stage."
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