Anyone who was mean to a person who later died by suicide can be jailed under this law.

Courts require proof of clear instigation, conspiracy, or intentional help toward the suicide — ordinary harassment or arguments alone are not enough.

This section punishes the person who attempted or died by suicide.

This provision only punishes the abettor (the one who encouraged or helped); attempting suicide is no longer a punishable offence under Indian law.

The ten-year term is a mandatory minimum sentence.

The law only sets a maximum of ten years; courts have discretion to award a lesser sentence along with a fine, depending on the facts.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 108

Abetment of suicide

If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.§

Why this exists

This provision continues the earlier Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, which itself grew out of 19th-century colonial law aimed at punishing people who push others toward suicide through harassment, cruelty, coercion, or direct encouragement. It became especially important in dealing with dowry deaths, workplace or family harassment, and cases where a vulnerable person was driven to suicide by someone else's deliberate conduct. The law tries to fix responsibility on the abettor without criminalising the act of suicide itself, since suicide by the victim is no longer treated as a punishable offence under Indian law.

How courts read it

Courts have repeatedly clarified that 'abetment' here must satisfy the strict definition of abetment found elsewhere in the code (instigation, conspiracy, or intentional aid) and cannot be inferred lightly. In cases such as State of West Bengal v. Orilal Jaiswal and M. Mohan v. State of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court held that mere harassment, quarrels, or a demanding personality are not enough; there must be a clear, proximate, and intentional act that left the deceased with no option but to take the extreme step. Courts have also stressed the need for a direct link ('proximate cause') between the accused's actions and the suicide, and have been cautious about misuse of this provision in family or matrimonial disputes.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Anyone who was mean to a person who later died by suicide can be jailed under this law.
Fact: Courts require proof of clear instigation, conspiracy, or intentional help toward the suicide — ordinary harassment or arguments alone are not enough.
Myth: This section punishes the person who attempted or died by suicide.
Fact: This provision only punishes the abettor (the one who encouraged or helped); attempting suicide is no longer a punishable offence under Indian law.
Myth: The ten-year term is a mandatory minimum sentence.
Fact: The law only sets a maximum of ten years; courts have discretion to award a lesser sentence along with a fine, depending on the facts.