RULING out strangulation and rape, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the two-year jail term of a man challenging his conviction for abetting the suicide of Telugu actress Pratyusha in 2002, and directed him to surrender within four weeks. Pratyusha died in Hyderabad on Feb 24, 2002. The gist of the case against Gudipalli Siddhartha Reddy, according to the remand report, is that he and Pratyusha were in love for six years. While the relation was acceptable to Pratyusha’s mother, Reddy’s mother did not agree to the alliance on account of which both of them decided to commit suicide. On Feb 23, 2002, both of them went in a car, purchased a pesticide bottle, mixed it in coke and consumed it.

 

However, wisdom prevailed over them and they decided that they should not die. They drove to Care Hospital in Hyderabad. In spite of the medical care, Pratyusha died while Reddy survived. A bench comprising justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan also dismissed the plea filed by P Sarojini Devi, Pratyusha’s mother, who alleged foul play in the death. “This court holds that the accused’s conduct in entering into and acting upon the suicide pact falls squarely within all the 3 situations envisaged in Sec 107 (Abetment) of the IPC. His participation directly facilitated deceased’s suicide. “Notably, it is not his defence that the deceased was the dominant personality who pressured him into the pact. His culpability therefore stands established,” the bench said.