The Gujarat High Court has acquitted the employer of a lady Chartered Accountant from the charges abetment of suicide of the latter. Reportedly, the lady Chartered Accountant committed suicide on 30th June 2020 after reprimanded to maintain office discipline.
Holding in favour of the employer, the High Court held that when an employee is reprimanded with a view to maintain office discipline and out of fear or being hypersensitive, if an employee commits suicide, that would not constitute an abetment of suicide offence. The court made the observation while quashing an FIR filed by two chartered accountants based in Surat.
Sanjay Agrawal, one of the firm’s partners, found the Chartered Accountant attending a function during office hours, so he scolded her and humiliated her by stating that she might be serving the firm Shreeji Yarn, who was his client. He threatened to take legal action against her and cancel her licence as CA. The girl resigned and later died by hanging.
The police had registered case against Agrawal, Alok Dhandhania and Tushar Vegad under charges of abetment to suicide, which they had challenged. While quashing the FIR, Justice Nirzar Desai noted, “If an employer on finding the employee breaching the discipline of office, asks the employee that legal action would be taken against concerned employee and if after few days, the concerned employee commits suicide, it cannot be said that the threat to take legal action was given with a criminal intent to instigate the employee to commit suicide.”
The court further said, “When an employee is scolded just with a view to maintain office discipline and out of fear or being hypersensitive, if an employee commits suicide, that would not constitute an offence attracting provisions of Section 306 of Indian Penal Code as the action taken by the employer was in good faith to maintain office discipline.”
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