Overview
- A division bench of the Kerala High Court allowed the woman's appeal on Monday, set aside her November 2023 conviction and life sentence, and ordered her release.
- The judges found evidence that the woman consumed a large number of paracetamol tablets, sustained wrist injuries and left a suicide note, which the court said amounted to an attempted suicide.
- Relying on Section 115 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, the court held that an attempt to commit suicide creates a statutory presumption of severe stress that can bar punishment under the Indian Penal Code.
- The High Court sharply criticised the prosecution and the Sessions Judge for failing to properly pursue the charge under Section 309 IPC and for treating the acquittal on that count as a prosecutorial concession rather than a positive finding.
- The ruling underscores how mental-health protections can alter criminal liability, may prompt prosecutors and trial courts to reassess handling of suicide-related evidence, and directly frees the woman after years in the legal system.