Supreme Court Says Boss Not Responsible If Overworked Employee Commits Suicide

if an employee, depressed due to office pressure and workload commits suicide, the superiors or boss of the employee cannot be held responsible for abatement. Top court in India has given decision in this regard while hearing a case pertaining to rejection of a case where an argument made by the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court that held an officer culpable even if there was no direct abatement on the grounds that the conditions could lead to unbearable mental tension for the employee.

The case was pertaining to Kishor Parashar, who worked in the Aurangabad office of the deputy director of education in Maharashtra government committed suicide, after which his wife filed a complaint with the police accusing her husband’s superior officer of abetting the suicide.

The wife alleged that the superior would assign a heavy workload to Parashar, which would require him to work till late evening. She claimed that the senior would call Parashar to work at odd hours and on holidays and even stopped his salary for a month and threatened to stop increments. She said that her husband would remain silent at home and that his superior was responsible for his suicide.

After the Aurangabad police registered the FIR, the senior officer moved the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court to quash the FIR.

The High Court on January 23, however, rejected the plea to quash the FIR.