kochi a person cannot be charged with murder and abetment to suicide together as they are mutually exclusive the kerala high court held while setting aside a charge framed sojustice r narayana pisharadi gave the ruling after considering a petition crl rev pet no 6542011 filed by rajesh gopalakrishnan of nellanad in thiruvananthapuram through advocate rt pradeepafter his wife committed suicide by hanging he was booked for murder 302 of ipc abetment of suicide 306 and cruelty to woman by husband or relative 498a a trial court framed charge against the petitioner for these offencesprosecution alleged that he had beaten his wife black and blue before she committed suicide the doctor who conducted autopsy gave the statement that death was due to combined effect of constriction force on the neck and blunt injury to the chest he opined that the chest injury independently would have caused her deathwhile holding that the charge framed cannot be sustained ex facie the court said death can be accidental suicidal or homicidal the offences punishable under section 302 of ipc and section 306 of ipc are mutually exclusive the offence punishable under section 306 of ipc presupposes commission of suicide the offence punishable under section 302 of ipc contemplates punishment for murder which presumes existence of intention on the part of the accused to kill the victim section 306 of the ipc envisages suicidal death and it undisputedly excludes homicidal death charges under both sections cannot coexist but charge in the alternative can be framed against an accused for offences punishable under sections 302 and 306 ipc the charge framed against the petitioner was set aside by the high court and the trial court was ordered to proceed afresh