Law Weblog

R v Dhaliwal [2006] CA

Thursday 18 May 2006 at 9:34 pm | In News | Post Comment

[Manslaughter – suicide induced by physical or mental harm]
D abused his wife who eventually committed suicide by hanging herself. The judge at the Old Bailey dismissed the charges and ruled that psychological harm cannot, as the law currently stands, amount to bodily harm.. The prosecution appealed.

Held: The CofA rejected the appeal but held that if D harms a partner and causes them physical and mental harm and subsequently drives them to suicide, then D can be guilty of manslaughter.

Not guilty
Comment: The prosecution used their new right to appeal Judge’s decisions under Section 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which came into force in April 2005. It is believed that this was one of the first appeals of its type. There is no jurisprudence anywhere in the world that has a precedent on this principle.