The Uttarakhand High Court has stayed the conviction of a vaccine scientist in a suicide abetment case on the grounds that if he was not allowed to resume his research work, it may affect the interest of the nation.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani observed that the scientist’s research work of vaccine development was a matter of public health and national interest.
The High Court passed the interim order on a petition filed by Akash Yadav, a scientist with PhD from IIT Kharagpur and Senior Manager at the Indian Immunologicals Limited.
He was accused of dowry harassment and abetting the suicide of his wife. The prosecution claimed that the wife had left behind a suicide note blaming the scientist for her death.
While clearing Yadav of offences concerning dowry death, the trial court convicted him under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
Yadav moved the High Court challenging his conviction. He further requested the High Court to stay his conviction and sentence until the appeal was decided.
The scientist was released from jail on bail on April 7.
Appearing for Yadav, Advocate Harshit Sanwal apprised the High Court that the scientist’s conviction was hampering his critical role in vaccine research, which was vital to public health and national interest. No case was made out against Yadav as he had been acquitted under Sections 304-B (dowry death) IPC and Sections 3 and 4 (punishment for dowry death) of the Dowry Prohibition Act, he added.
Representing the State of Uttarakhand, Additional Government Advocate VS Rawat opposed the plea by pointing to the wife’s suicide note blaming Yadav.
The High Court suspended Yadav’s conviction and sentence till his appeal was decided.
Relying on Supreme Court verdicts, including Rama Narang v Ramesh Narang and Navjot Singh Sidhu v State of Punjab, the High Court observed that in exceptional cases, an appellate court may suspend a conviction if its consequences caused irreparable harm.
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