Bengaluru Techie Suicide: Laws To Protect Women or Weapon For Harassment Of Men? – News18
Last Updated:
The Bengaluru incident, where the software engineer was allegedly driven to suicide due to alleged false cases of cruelty, has underscored the misuse of these laws
Atul Subhash suicide: Bengaluru engineer died after allegedly facing harassment from his wife and her relatives.
The death by suicide of 34-year-old techie Atul Subhash has reignited the debate over whether cruelty against wives and maintenance laws serve as a protective shield or an unfettered weapon for women.
The Bengaluru incident, where the software engineer was allegedly driven to suicide due to alleged false cases of cruelty, has underscored the misuse of these laws. The victim’s family alleged the accusations were baseless and used as means of harassment. This incident has sparked widespread outrage and calls for reform to prevent such tragic outcomes.
In a judgment delivered on December 10, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC), comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswer Singh, observed a rising trend of misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).”Recent years have witnessed a notable rise in matrimonial disputes across the country, accompanied by growing discord and tension within the institution of marriage. Consequently, there has been a growing tendency to misuse provisions like Section 498A of the IPC as a tool for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family by a wife,” the bench stated.
The bench further highlighted that making vague and generalised allegations during matrimonial conflicts, if not scrutinised, can lead to the misuse of legal processes and encourage arm-twisting tactics by a wife and her family.
PUSH FOR STRICTER SAFEGUARDS
The renewed debate over the misuse of these laws, originally intended to protect estranged wives, has led to the legal community rallying in support of husbands who have been victims of such oppression. Many advocate for the Supreme Court to introduce stricter safeguards.
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa told CNN-News18, “The Supreme Court should take suo motu cognisance of this case and frame stricter safeguards to prevent any more such unfortunate incidents from happening. There have to be stricter safeguards, and action should be taken against those who file false cases. The legal community too is responsible for the misuse of this law.”
He also suggested that the offence should be made bailable to prevent undue hardship on the husband and curb the misuse of the law.
Advocate Ashish Dixit, a seasoned criminal lawyer, told News18 that a failed marriage usually does not end in divorce, but in misery and suffering, with men often being the primary sufferers. “I am not generalising, but this is what the data suggests. If a marriage is not working out and the husband seeks divorce on grounds of cruelty, the wife, in most cases, files multiple cases against the husband and his family, which I call a ‘bouquet of cases’,” he said.
Dixit suggested that to reduce misuse, the general presumption of the authenticity of a wife’s allegations needs to be reconsidered. “Sadly, the law in this country is a bit tilted towards women. It is presumed that the husband must have done something wrong. This creates a disbalance in the administration of justice and leads to mental harassment and depression for the husbands,” he added.
Advocate Rhythm Shrivastava also highlighted the grim situation where, in many cases, wives seek constant adjournments in proceedings to ensure the maintenance amounts continue to flow from the husband. “It is truly disheartening to say that a man facing so much hardship felt driven to commit suicide. It is indeed a harsh reality that matrimonial laws, such as Section 498A and cases of domestic violence, are often misused. These issues create immense pressure on men,” she said.
“First and foremost, these situations are unjust, as they can affect men in many ways. However, in the case of women, they often receive financial support in the form of maintenance. This creates a lot of pressure on the opposite party and their family members,” Shrivastava told CNN-News18.
The debate over the misuse of Section 498A and maintenance laws underscores the need for a balanced approach to ensure justice for both parties while preventing the exploitation of legal provisions.
PROBE LAUNCHED
As the suicide of a Bengaluru engineer alleging harassment by his wife created a social media storm, the city police on Tuesday took cognisance of the suicide note and launched an investigation into the matter, officials said.
Subhash, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, died by suicide at his Bengaluru apartment on Monday, leaving behind a 24-page note in which he accused his estranged wife and her family of harassment. He had also shot a 90-minute video of himself detailing his case.
According to the preliminary investigation, Subhash was facing marital issues as his wife had filed numerous cases against him in Uttar Pradesh, which he talked about in the video shot just before his extreme step. Before dying by suicide, he shared the note in a WhatsApp group of an NGO he was a part of. He also sent it to several others via email. “My wife has registered nine cases against me. Six cases are in the lower court and three in the high court,” Sharma said in the recorded video.
Discover more from Divya Bharat 🇮🇳
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
