In Brief
An 18-year-old unmarried girl in rural Haryana committed suicide by hanging after continuous harassment by her male relatives, who taunted her with degrading terms referring to her broken engagement. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of two appellants for abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC, finding that the repeated, intentional humiliation—intended to destroy her self-esteem and drive her to hopelessness—constituted abetment, not mere eve-teasing. However, the appeal was partly allowed as one appellant was below 18 years at the time of the offence and was entitled to juvenile justice protection. The court emphasized that eve-teasing violates women's constitutional rights and that such harassment, when continuous and proximate to suicide, establishes abetment.
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