Suicide has historically been treated as a criminal matter in many parts of the world. Although a person who has successfully committed suicide might be thought to be beyond the reach of the law, there could still be legal consequences. The associated matters of assisting a suicide and attempting suicide are, or have been, also dealt with by the laws of some jurisdictions.

The first country to legalise medically assisted suicide is Netherlands

India

In India, attempted suicide is a punishable crime by up to one year in prison and/or fine. For a brief while, the Supreme Court had interpreted the section of the penal code which criminalizes suicide as unconstitutional but a recent decision has upheld the constitutional validity of prohibiting suicide.