SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed a criminal case against a college teacher accused of abetting suicide. The teacher, Rajnesh Sharma, was named in a suicide note left by a student who had been reported by Sharma for an attendance shortage.
Justice Rahul Bharti ruled that merely being mentioned in a suicide note does not automatically imply guilt under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which addresses suicide abetment.
Justice Bharti emphasised that Section 306 IPC is intended to address cases where a person intentionally drives another to suicide or creates circumstances that lead to such a decision. He clarified that teachers, parents, and others should not be at risk of being charged simply because someone in their charge becomes frustrated or distressed.
The court found that Sharma had no intention to drive the student to suicide and noted that the student’s family did not file a complaint against him. The court concluded that Sharma’s actions, related to reporting attendance issues, did not warrant charges of suicide abetment.
Sharma, an assistant professor of political science at Government Degree College, Kathua, was initially arrested and suspended following the student’s death in 2022. He challenged the charges against him, arguing that he was performing his duty and that many students had similar attendance issues.
The court observed that if the logic used to charge Sharma were applied more broadly, it would unjustly implicate many others in similar situations. Senior Advocate KS Johal and Advocate Supreet Singh Johal represented Sharma, while Deputy Advocate General Dewakar Sharma represented the Jammu and Kashmir government.
