New Delhi, Sept. 10 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that routine neighbourhood quarrels cannot be treated as a crime of abetment to suicide, stressing that punishing one neighbour for another's decision to take their life over heated exchanges does not meet the threshold of law.

The observation came as the court acquitted a Karnataka woman who had been convicted under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after her 25-year-old neighbour set herself on fire, allegedly unable to bear constant fights and bickering.

Overturning the rulings of both the trial court and the Karnataka high court, a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and KV Viswanathan said abetment to suicide requires clear intent or instigation by the accused, leaving t...