JUDICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE RESPONSES TO ATTEMPTED SUICIDE IN INDIA: A SOCIO-LEGAL ANALYSIS OF REFORM AND IMPLEMENTATION

Author Name: 1. Dr. Parul Pareek

Volume/Issue: 05/12

Country: India

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: https://doi-ds.org/doilink/06.2025-28415872/UIJIR

Affiliation:

1. Associate Advocate; Independent Researcher; Former Assistant Professor Sol, MUST, Laxmangarh, Sikar, Rajasthan, India.

ABSTRACT

This study critically evaluates the transformation of India’s legal framework governing attempted suicide, tracing its evolution from the punitive Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, to a compassionate, rights-based approach under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (MHCA), and the complete decriminalization under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Employing a socio-legal methodology, it conducts a doctrinal analysis of landmark judgments—Maruti Shripati Dubal v. State of Maharashtra (1987), P. Rathinam v. Union of India (1994), Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab (1996), and Common Cause v. Union of India (2018) and integrates empirical insights from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data (2024), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) surveys (2024), and state-level reports. Stigma theory (Goffman, 1963) and public health models (WHO, 2020) frame the analysis of societal attitudes and systemic inequities. Comparative perspectives from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and South Asian nations contextualize India’s reforms, while intersectional analysis examines gender, caste, and regional disparities. The article addresses enforcement gaps, mental health infrastructure deficits, and cultural stigma, proposing evidence-based policy recommendations. By incorporating the BNS’s decriminalization of attempted suicide and analysing post-MHCA judicial trends, this study offers a novel contribution to interdisciplinary scholarship on criminal justice reform, mental health policy, and constitutional human rights in India.

Key words: Attempted Suicide, Section 309 IPC, Mental Healthcare Act 2017, Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Constitutional Law, Mental Health Policy, Human Rights, Indian Judiciary, Criminal Justice Reform, Public Health, Intersectionality.