Mother’s paramour didn’t drive girl to suicide, rules Bombay high court

While setting aside the conviction of a man for abetting a school girl’s suicide, the Bombay high court ruled that just because he had illicit relations with her mother, it cannot be said that he instigated the girl to take the step.

Justice VR Kingaonkar of the Aurangabad bench on December 2 set aside the conviction and sentence of Ravindra Gadge of Borban village, Ahmednagar. Additional sessions judge, Shrirampur, had convicted Gadge and the girl’s mother Sulbha under section 306 (abetment to suicide) and sentenced them to one-year rigorous imprisonment. While Gadge appealed, Sulbha did not.

The judge said, “The girl was in Std X. It is natural that she was mentally unprepared to accept the relation that developed between her mother and her cousin uncle.”

Gadge was the cousin of the girl’s father Eknath and lived in the area behind his house. Eknath worked as teacher in a Raigad school while Sulbha ran a grocery shop with Gadge’s help.

Eknath visited home during holidays. In 1995, the girl told Eknath about Gadge and Sulbha’s affair and that Gadge had threatened her against disclosing their sexual relations to anyone.

On August 2, 1995, Sulbha informed Eknath that their daughter had run towards Mula river. Her body was recovered on August 5, 1995. She had died due to drowning. Sulbha and Gadge were charge-sheeted. Gadge’s defence was total denial.