Court acquits man accused of abetting girlfriend's suicide

A youth facing trial for allegedly kidnapping his minor girlfriend and abetting her suicide has been acquitted by a Delhi court on the ground that there was no evidence to prove the charges against him.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Kumar Goyal let off Delhi resident Anil Bhardwaj from the charges of abetting the suicide of his 17-year-old girlfriend in 2000, saying had the accused abetted her suicide, she would have mentioned the same to the doctor before she died.

The ASJ also absolved Bhardwaj from charges of abducting his girlfriend to compel her to marry him and cheating her saying she had voluntarily joined the accused and was not lured by him to do so.

"Nothing has been brought on record that accused had kidnapped or abducted or enticed the prosecutrix with intention to compel her to marry with him or that she may be forced or seduced for illicit intercourse.

"It is well settled that where the girl leaves her father's protection knowing or having capacity to know, the full import of what she is doing, and voluntarily joins the accused person, the accused cannot be said to have taken her away from her lawful guardian.

"Had there been any abetment on the part accused Anil Bhardwaj for consumption of poison by her, then certainly she would have disclosed the same to the doctor at that time," the court said.

According to the police, both Bhardwaj and the girl were admitted in RML Hospital here on the intervening night of July 22-23, 2000 after the staff of the hotel, where the couple was staying, had found them unwell and vomiting in the room.

Prior to her death, the girl had told the doctor at the hospital that she had consumed poison which had made her nauseous and she had started vomiting.

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