NEW DELHI: Holding that the surviving partner in a mutual suicide pact should be punished for abetment, the SC on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Telugu actress Pratyusha’s boyfriend in her 2002 death case in which they both took poison together but survived.
The court rejected his plea to challenge the conviction and ordered G Siddhartha Reddy to surrender within four weeks. A bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan said the suicide pact involves mutual encouragement and mutual commitment to die together, and the survivor’s participation acts as a direct catalyst for the actions of the deceased. “His participation directly facilitated the suicide of the deceased. It is noteworthy that it is not his defense that the deceased was the dominant personality who pressured him to conclude the agreement. His guilt is therefore established.”
