Mumbai: 60-year-old woman booked for abetting granddaughter's suicide gets bail

Photo for representational purpose

A 60-year-old woman, booked for abetting the suicide of her 10-year-old granddaughter, was granted bail on Friday. The woman had allegedly scolded the minor and was lodged in jail for 20 days, after she was arrested on charges, including Section 305 (abetment of suicide of a child) of the IPC, which can attract a maximum punishment of the death penalty.

As per a report in The Indian Express, the incident occurred on December 7. The prosecution claimed that on the day of the incident, the woman scolded her granddaughter for making her clothes wet. Police filed a complaint and said the scolding angered the girl, who locked herself inside her room and then died by suicide.

The woman was booked under sections 305, 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the IPC.

"The accused is the grandmother of the deceased… As usual, she just scolded her as to why she has made her clothes wet. Except this, nothing happened… However, unfortunately, (the victim) ended her life. However, the act of the accused will not come within the definition of abetment," the court said while granting her bail.

The woman's lawyer, while seeking bail, submitted that by no stretch of the imagination could a scolding be an abetment to her suicide. The prosecution opposed the bail plea stating that the investigation is still on. The court said while the post-mortem report showed that the death was due to hanging, to attract the abetment charge, a wilful act or verbal statement showing that there was no other option left for the victim but to commit suicide is required.