The Centre is now keen to decriminalise suicide, and the controversial Section 309 may soon be removed from the Indian Penal Code once a comprehensive amendment is enacted.
The home ministry has told the law ministry it agrees with the Law Commission’s view that suicide has to be decriminalised as soon as possible.
The MHA, which handles legislative aspects of the IPC and the Code of Criminal Procedure, plans legislation to decriminalise “attempt to suicide”, which now invites a jail term up to one year, with or without fine.
Top home ministry officials said the matter has been sub judice for a while, due to which a final decision had been delayed. The MHA is wary of piecemeal amendments to the IPC, and has submitted the changes it wants to the law ministry before it takes it to Parliament.
“We have also conveyed to the health ministry that a humanitarian view must be taken,” an MHA official said. The health ministry had separately piloted a Mental Health Care Bill 2012 that would try to tackle suicide attempts clinically rather than criminally.
Officials noted while the controversial IPC section on suicide dates from the Raj, in Britain itself suicide had already been decriminalised. Some people, however, fear a sharp rise in suicides if it is no longer an offence.