Mere Scolding Cannot Constitute Abetment to Suicide: Supreme Court Discharges Teacher

Last Updated on June 2, 2025 by Amit Patra

In a pathbreaking judgment which distinctly distinguishes between discipline and criminal culpability, the Supreme Court has acquitted one teacher accused of abetting a student’s suicide on the premise that normal scolding in good faith cannot be the offense under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra bench of the court overturned the Madras High Court ruling which had denied acquitting the teacher after a student had died prematurely following a scolding. The Supreme Court laid strong emphasis on the point that “no normal person could have imagined that a scolding, that too at the instance of a complaint by a student, would result in such tragedy due to the student so scolded ending his life.”

The court’s rationale was built upon the basic necessity of mens rea in criminal law. The decision explained that the teacher had behaved like a “responsible authority dealing with a complaint” without any evidence to establish that there was an intent to cause harm. For abetment of suicide, basic elements such as instigation, provocation, or intentional assistance in the act need to be established by the prosecution.

This decision gives great protection to teachers and officials who otherwise could be held liable for such claims after gruesome accidents. The Court separated responsibility professional within limits of reason and criminal liability based on intent to injure. Lack of criminal intent was determinative of the matter because the teacher’s conduct was within ordinary disciplinary action in response to a student grievance.

The ruling provides much-needed clarity to schools, setting the precedent that disciplinary measures can never serve as the foundation of serious criminal charges merely for occurring prior to heinous incidents. The case argues that criminal liability entails establishing certain malicious intent and not merely establishing temporal relationship between discipline and catastrophic consequences, safeguarding teachers from unanticipated criminal responsibility while ensuring professional accountability.