Indian Penal Code

Introduction

Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) deals with the provision regarding attempt to commit suicide. Suicide is no such crime under the Code. It is only attempt to commit suicide that is punishable.

Section 309 of IPC

• This Section deals with the attempt to commit suicide.
• It states that whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine, or with both.
• The term suicide has not been defined anywhere in IPC.
  • Suicide is the human act of self-infliction or self-intentional cessation.

Essential Elements of Section 309 of IPC

• The person must have been unsuccessful in an attempt to commit suicide.
• The person does any act towards the commission of suicide.
• The act of attempt must be intentional and not my mistake or accident.

Constitutionality of Section 309 of IPC

• The legality and correctness of the provision punishing attempt to commit suicide have always been subject matter of hot discussion in judicial circle from decades.
• It is to be remembered that the Law Commission of India during 1970- 1971 in the 42^nd report had recommended the deletion of offence of the attempt to commit suicide from IPC.
• During 1978-1979 the recommendation was virtually accepted by the Government of India. But before amendments could be brought in, the Lok Sabha was dissolved in 1979 and the Bill lapsed.
• In State v. Sanjay Kumar Bhatia (1985), the Delhi High Court condemned the penal provision as 'unworthy of human society'.
• In 1986, the Bombay High Court held it to be ultravires on the ground that it violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950 (COI).
• A two‐judge bench of the Supreme Court in P. Rathinam v. Union of India (1994) struck down Section 309 of IPC as unconstitutional.
• However, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab (1996) overruled the decision in Rathinam holding that the right to life does not include right to die and upheld the validity of Section 309 of IPC.
• It is to be mentioned that in 2008 the Law Commission again favored scrapping of Section 309 of the IPC in its 210^th report on ‘Humanization and decriminalization of attempt to suicide'.
• The Supreme Court in Common Cause (A registered society) v. Union of India and Anr. (2018) had recommended the Parliament to consider decriminalizing attempt to suicide, saying the provision had become anachronistic while giving guidelines to passive euthanasia.
• The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017:
  • This Act came into force in 2018 and tries to decriminalize suicide.
  • This Act made it clear that Section 309 of IPC could be used to punish attempted suicide only as an exception.
  • This Act states that a person who attempts to commit suicide will be presumed to be “suffering from severe stress’’ and shall not be subjected to any investigation or prosecution.

Attempt to Commit Suicide in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS)

• This new Act removes the Section of attempt to commit suicide from the statute books, it doesn’t entirely decriminalize the offence of attempting to die by suicide.
• Section 224 of the BNS states that whoever attempts to commit suicide with the intent to compel or restrain any public servant from discharging his official duty shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both or with community service.
• So, an attempt to commit suicide remains a punishable offence if it is made to stop a public servant from acting.