‘Laws Should Be Made For Men Too’: Atul Subhash’s Brother Amid Outrage Over Techie’s Suicide – News18

Last Updated:December 11, 2024, 15:05 IST

Atul Subhash, 34, died by suicide after posting a 90-minute video and a 24-page note describing mental torture and false charges by his wife.

Amid widespread outrage over the suicide of a Bengaluru techie, Atul Subhash’s brother Bikash Kumar demanded justice and called for establishing laws to protect men from harassments amid a broader debate on the flaws and misuse of the legal system.

As Subhash’s suicide took people by storm and reignited the debate over men’s rights and judicial protection from false cases, Bikash Kumar told news agency ANI that no arrests have been made so far in the case and the Indian government should consider this incident seriously.

“I want justice for my brother. Laws should be made for men as well as what happened with my brother is happening with several others. The Government of India should take this seriously. A man’s life is equally important as a female’s. I don’t want men to be afraid of marriage,” he said.

Kumar also highlighted that a man is immediately arrested after the suicide of a woman without a suicide note while no action has been taken in Subhash’s case despite him leaving a 90-minute video and a 24-page note, highlighting the gender-biasedness of the laws.

ALSO READ: Bengaluru Engineer Suicide: Internet Demands Accenture Should Fire Atul Subhash’s Wife

FIR Filed After Atul Subhash’s Suicide

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.

He claimed his wife filed nine cases against him, including false charges of murder, dowry harassment and domestic violence. He also claimed that his wife had demanded a monthly maintenance of Rs 2 lakh for herself and their son. After he took the extreme step, social media users overwhelmingly came out in his support and demanded justice.

A case has been filed at the Marathahalli police station based on the complaint filed by Atul’s brother against Nikita Singhania, her mother Nisha Singhania, brother Anurag Singhania and uncle Sushil Singhania. The police are likely to issue notices to all the accused asking them to appear for investigation. The Bengaluru city police has launched a probe into the matter, officials said.

Pawan Kumar, Atul Subhash’s father, said his daughter-in-law framed multiple false charges against him, and said Subhash had to travel from Jaunpur to Bengaluru at least 40 times. However, his father said Atul never let his family feel his sufferings and that the system failed.

“She filed cases against us that have no logic. The system failed us… Our son killed himself due to the system. We had to do rounds of courts. Atul was distressed due to the stress happening to us. We have to live with this regret,” he said.

ALSO READ: Men Share Harrowing Experiences As #JusticeForAtulSubhash Campaign Creates An Outcry

Supreme Court Weighs In On Misuse Of Laws

Ahead of the incident that sparked widespread condemnation, the Supreme Court had earlier expressed worry over the rampant misuse of the cruelty law by married women to harass their husbands and in-laws to achieve selfish interests.

While hearing a separate case in Telangana on Tuesday, a Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh noted Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which penalises cruelty by husbands and their relatives against married women, was being misused. The court said that there is a growing trend to use the provision as a tool by women for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family.

Barkha Trehan, a Men’s Rights activist told ANI that there was a lot of biasedness in the system where only women are heard and not men. “Men are tortured and threatened, cases under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 498 are deliberately registered against men and the Supreme Court has observed that 95 per cent of these cases are false,” she said.

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