44 years on, HC clears Ballia man in wife suicide case over radio demand

Prayagraj: A Ballia man, who had been out on bail after his conviction in an abetment to suicide case involving his wife more than four decades ago, has finally been granted relief, with the Allahabad High Court acquitting him after 44 years. The court overturned his 1982 conviction, which stemmed from allegations that he had harassed his wife by demanding a radio, driving her to commit suicide.

In its judgment dated April 2, the high court concluded that the prosecution failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt. It also found no conclusive evidence that the alleged harassment over the radio demand drove the woman to take her life.

The court also took note of the unexplained delay of 25 days in lodging the FIR, holding that such a delay cast serious doubt on the prosecution’s case.

The court was hearing a criminal appeal filed by Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, challenging the conviction and jail term of five years under Section 306 of the IPC by the trial court in Ballia. The man has been out on bail.

A single bench of Justice Sanjiv Kumar observed: “Mere harassment is not sufficient to constitute an offence under Section 306 of the IPC, unless it mentions deliberate acts of incitement or facilitation… There should be a clear connection between the accused’s behaviour and the tragic outcome.”

The prosecution case arose from the death of a married woman, who sustained severe burns at her matrimonial home and subsequently died. The father of the deceased alleged that she had been subjected to harassment by her husband and in-lawsfor dowry, specifically a radio.

An FIR was lodged under Section 306 of the IPC after a delay of about 25 days, alleging that the deceased had been driven to commit suicide due to harassment. During the trial, the prosecution examined the parents of the deceased, the investigating officer, and the doctor who conducted the post-mortem.

The trial court convicted the husband under Section 306 of the IPC, while acquitting the other accused. Aggrieved by the conviction, the appellant preferred the present appeal.

Relying on precedents, including Jaydeepsingh Pravinsingh Chavda v. State of Gujarat (2025) and S.S. Chheena v. Vijay Kumar Mahajan (2010), the court said that the allegations of harassment were general in nature and lacked specific details regarding the
conduct of the accused.

It noted that the letter written by the deceased merely contained a request for a radio or money and did not disclose any coercion or harassment attributable to the accused.

Additionally, the court found merit in the defence version that the deceased may have suffered accidental burn injuries while cooking, particularly in view of medical evidence and the absence of any dying declaration.
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