Penal Code, 1860: s.306 r/w s.34 – Abetment to suicide – Prosecution case was that parties were closely related to each other and living in same village and in neighbourhood – Relations between them were strained and they were engaged in several litigations including complaint relating to hurt case as lodged by PW-11, mother of the deceased – Allegation against the accused was that they abetted commission of suicide by the daughter of the complainant (PW-1) – Deceased girl was about 18 years of age – Accused Nos. 1 and 2 were uncles in her relation whereas, accused Nos. 3 and 4 were her cousins – The deceased girl had been complaining to her family about the indecent behaviour of the accused that they addressed her as “wife”, “chachi” (aunt) or “Bohoria” (younger brother’s wife) – The girl was always advised by her family to keep quiet – On the fateful day, she was found dead, hanging by her neck – On previous day, the deceased girl had complained to her mother and uncle about the indecent taunts made by accused and while crying told them that she would end her life as and when she would get opportunity to do so – Trial court found appellant-accused guilty of offence punishable under s.306 r/w s.34 and awarded four years RI – High Court upheld conviction but modified sentence to two and a half years RI – On appeal, held: In the given set up and respective position of the parties, if accused No.1 continuously addressed or called the deceased girl as his “wife”, the utterance was not merely of teasing but of demeaning and destroying the selfesteem of the young girl whose engagement had broken and whose uncle was mocking her to join him in matrimony – It was the act of humiliation of highest order for the girl, who had personally suffered the set-back of broken engagement – The other accused persons chose to join the accused No. 1 and aggravated the humiliation of the girl by addressing her as younger brother’s wife or aunt – Accused persons were working with the common intention to harass and humiliate the girl with reference to her broken engagement – Such taunting and humiliation of the deceased at the hands of the accused persons was not a singular event or one-off affair but had been a continuous feature, as amply established by the prosecution witnesses – There was no reason to disbelieve the statement of PW11 that her daughter wept the whole night after the said incident and on being frustrated and exasperated with such humiliations, ended her life in the early morning very next day – It is not a case of a mere eve-teasing, insult or intimidation but the continuous and repeated acts and utterances of the accused persons were calculated to destroy her self-esteem aimed at taking her to the brink of helplessness and to the vanishing point of tolerance – Accused Nos. 1 and 3 were rightly held guilty of offence of abetment of suicide – Interference with the order of High Court not called for. Penal Code, 1860: s.306 r/w s.34 – Claim of juvenility by appellant no.2 – As per matriculation certificate, on the date of incident, appellant no.2 was 16 years old – He is entitled to benefit of juvenility. Words and phrases: Word ‘abetment’ – Meaning of in the context of s.107 IPC.