Section 113-A deals with the question of abetment of woman’s suicide by her husband or any of his relatives. In such cases, a presumption arises that such a suicide has been abetted by the husband or his relative, if the following two conditions are satisfied:
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a) The suicide was committed within a period of seven years from the date of her marriage; and
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(b) Her husband, or his relative, has subjected her to cruelty (as the term is defined in S. 498-A of the Indian Penal Code).
Such a presumption must, however, be drawn by the Court after having regard to all the other circumstances of the case.
Before the provisions of S. 113-A can be applied; it should be shown that the deceased woman had committed suicide. If it is not a case of suicide, but of accidental death, the presumption of abetment by the husband or his relative does not arise. (Suresh v. State of Maharashtra, 1992 Cri. L.J., 2455)
Likewise, it must also be shown that the wife had been subject to cruelty within the meaning of that term as defined in S. 498-A of the I. P.C. Thus, it has been held that mere consumption of wine and coming home in the late hours of the night, much against the will of the wife, would not per se amount to “cruelty”. (Jagdish Chander v. State of Haryana, 1988 Cri. L.J. 1048) But, if such acts are coupled with regular beating of the wife, demanding dowry, and harassing her to bring more and more money, the case would be one of “cruelty”. (P.B. Pathiv. State of A.P., 1989 Cri. L.J. 1186; Gurbachan Singh v. Satpal Singh, 1990 Cri. L.J. 562)
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In one case, where the wife’s suicide took place more than a month-and-a-half after the demand for dowry was met, and matters were settled, it was held that it would be both unsafe, as well as unjust, to invoke the presumption of guilt under S. 113-A of the Act. (Samir v. State of West Bengal, 1993 Cri. L. J. 134)
Since S. 113-A does not create any new offence, but relates only to a procedural matter of evidence, it has been held to be retrospective in nature, and would also apply to cases of suicide committed prior to the date on which it came into force, namely, 12th December, 1983. (Gurbachan Singh v. Satpal Singh referred to above.)