Bengaluru Techie suicide: Experts criticise misuse of dowry laws, say 'Laws for women's safety used as weapon'

Mumbai: The case of Bengaluru Techie Atul Subhash who died by suicide citing alleged harassment by his estranged wife has opened up a debate on misuse of ant--dowry lawy. Mumbai-based lawyer Abha Singh described the case as a 'gross misuse of law,' stating that false charges and harassment led to the death of the victim, suffering from harassment from his wife and in-laws.
Lawyer Abha Singh also emphasized that the misuse of dowry laws could ultimately deny justice to those who genuinely need protection.
"Dowry laws, being made to protect women should not be misused because if some women are going to misuse these laws, then it will directly deny justice to women who need them," said the lawyer.
Speaking to ANI, Mumbai lawyer Abha Singh said, " A 34-year-old young techie Atul Subash committed suicide in Bengaluru and he has left behind a suicide note. He has mentioned that 9 Police complaints have been registered against him, there are false charges of murder, dowry harassment and domestic violence. The suicide note says that it was not true and the man was paying his wife Rs 2 lakhs and despite that she was not letting him see his son and his son was being used as a tool of blackmailing him."
"The suicide note says that he was forced to give expensive gifts to not only his wife but also to his wife's mother and brother. A case of abetment to suicide must be registered against the wife and her relatives. They should be arrested," said Singh.
"These false cases were registered in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. An FIR should be registered against the police officers as well for making false cases. This is because the wife has accepted that her father had died of a heart attack and not murder. So a person dying of a heart attack and the police writing down murder clearly shows that this is a travesty of justice and a gross misuse of law," she added.
The lawyer further said, "Blackmailing a person to commit suicide is deplorable, and shameful. My heart goes out to the mother of the deceased who lost her son and his 4-year-old child, who will not know his father, just because his greedy mother had other plans for him."
"Dowry laws, being made to protect women should not be misused because then if some women are going to misuse these laws, then it will directly deny justice to women who actually need them," said Singh.
Meanwhile, Delhi-based men's rights activist Barkha Trehan said that Atul Subhash had been failed by the system, ultimately leading him to dying by suicide.
"Atul Subhash is not the first man, lakhs of such men have died. 34-year-old Atul Subhash was compelled, the system failed him. There is a lot of biasedness in the system, only women are heard and not men. Men are tortured and threatened. All this, also from educated women. There is nobody to listen to their plights," said Trehan.
"Cases under (IPC) section 498 are deliberately registered against men and the Supreme Court has observed that 95 per cent of these cases are fake. Laws made for women's safety are being used as weapons," said the activist.
Meanwhile, an FIR has been filed against 4 people in connection with the suicide of a 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, Atul Subhash, who died by suicide, accusing his wife, her family members, and a judge of harassment, extortion, and corruption.
The FIR based on a complaint by Atul's brother Bikas Kumar was lodged at the Marathahalli police station in Bengaluru. The FIR has been filed under section 108 (abetment of suicide) and section 3 (5) (establishes joint criminal liability when two or more people act with a common intention) of the BNS. The FIR is filed against the techie's wife Nikita Singhania, his mother-in-law Nisha Singhania, his wife's brother Anurag Singhania and his wife's uncle Sushil Singhania.
As per the complaint filed by the brother of Atul, the FIR mentions that Atul Subhash married Nikita Singhania in 2019 and had a child together. The complaint alleges that the four accused filed a false case against Atul Subhash after their divorce and insisted on paying Rs 3 crore for the settlement of the case.
The complaint also alleges that Atul Subhash's wife had demanded Rs 30 lakh to allow him to visit his son who is now four years old. The complaint alleges that Atul had died by suicide as he was harassed mentally and physically. Based on the complaint, the case has been registered and an investigation is underway.
According to a statement released by the police, the victim was a resident of Uttar Pradesh who was living in Bengaluru. The police stated that the Hoysala Police Control Room received a call at 6:00 am on Monday about the suicide in a flat at Bengaluru's Manjunatha Layout in the Delfinium Residency.
The statement further stated that when the police went to search the place, the flat was locked from inside, and the lock was broken, following which they went inside and saw Atul hanging from a ceiling fan by the support of a nylon rope. The police stated that he was found dead upon arrival.
The police informed the incident to the brother of the deceased, Bikas Kumar, who later filed a complaint against Subhash's wife, his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, and his wife's uncle, accusing them of filing a false complaint against Subhash and demanding Rs 3 crore money for the settlement, which led to his mental and physical harassment, following which he had to take the step.
In his suicide note, Subhash called for justice, stating, "Justice is Due" on every single page of the 24-page note. Along with his wife and her family members, Subhash also accused a family court judge in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur of not hearing him out, and an officer in the court, accusing him of taking bribes in front of the judge.
Subhash further described the instances that instigated him to take such a step. Subhash recorded a video describing his alleged harassment and asking his family members not to immerse his ashes till justice is served to him. His suicide note also had a message for his four-year-old son who he claimed had been kept estranged from him. The note also called for his parents to be given custody of his child.
The note and the link to the Video were sent to the WhatsApp group of an NGO, to which he was connected. Subhash alleged in his suicide note that his wife had filed nine cases against him, including murder, sexual misconduct, harassment for money, domestic violence, and dowry.