SC turns focus on mental health of suicide victim

One-liner: The mental health of a person can't be compressed into a ''one size fits all' approach, the Supreme Court has said while setting aside an order of the Karnataka HC which quashed criminal proceedings against a govt official in a case of abetment of suicide.

Erroneous: A bench said the observation of the high court that there is no material to corroborate the allegations made in the suicide note is erroneous.

What the apex court says: The top court said a judge of the HC has termed a person who decided to commit suicide a 'weakling' and has also made observations on the behaviour of the deceased as that of a person who is depressed and suffering from mental health issues.

• The top court's judgment came on an appeal filed by Karnataka against the high court decision to quash the case 
• The govt officer's driver committed suicide and left a note in which he referred to the illegal activities of the accused in amassing wealth in excess of ₹100Cr and converting black money into white

Need to know: The matter relates to the death of a driver to a Special Land Acquisition Officer, and against whom grave charges of amassing wealth disproportionate to the known sources of income were made by the deceased.

• The top court said the high court had stalled the investigation by granting an interim order of stay
• If the investigation had been allowed to proceed, there would have been a revelation of material facts which would have aided the trial against the accused, the bench said

Source: PTI