Bombay HC quashes abetment case against Pune neurosurgeon over live-in partner's suicide

The Bombay High Court has quashed the FIR and chargesheet against a 30-year-old neurosurgeon in Pune, who was accused of abetting the suicide of his 37-year-old live-in partner. The court said the material placed before it did not establish that the doctor had a direct role in pushing her towards suicide.

In its order of October 22, the court said there was no evidence that the doctor had committed any specific act that could be treated as deliberate instigation or active aid in the woman's death. The court was hearing the doctor's petition seeking to quash the criminal proceedings against him.

The woman held a management degree and worked at a private company. On September 24, 2024, she was found dead in her flat in the Hinjewadi police station area. At the time, the doctor was in the fourth year of specialised training in neurosurgery at a well-known hospital.

According to the case details, the woman had been married twice, in 2014 and in 2017. Both marriages ended in divorce. She and the doctor later entered a relationship and began living together.

It is stated that the two had a quarrel the night before her death. It is said that the doctor's family, who live in Bengaluru, had begun looking for another match for him. After the argument, the woman left the doctor's flat and returned to her own home.

At around 8.45 am on September 24, she was found hanging in her bedroom. Police recovered a note from the flat. In it, the woman alleged that the doctor harassed her and wrote that he should not be forgiven.

The case was registered on October 16, about three weeks after the incident, on a complaint by the woman's mother, accusing the neurosurgeon of abetting her daughter's suicide.

The High Court said the note made a general allegation that the woman was troubled by the doctor's behaviour. However, it did not mention any specific incident, nor did it say how the doctor's actions were connected to her decision to end her life.

The bench also said the material before it did not reveal the circumstances in which the relationship had soured, nor any specific act of harassment by the accused. The elements needed to sustain a charge of abetment were missing. On this basis, the court quashed the FIR against the neurosurgeon and the chargesheet that followed.