New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 7) denied the custody of minor son of techie Atul Subhash, who committed suicide alleging mental harassment by his wife and in-laws, to techie’s mother, saying she was “stranger to the child”.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and N Kotiswar Singh denied custody while hearing a plea filed by deceased techie’s mother Anju Modi’s habeas corpus petition seeking custody of her four-year-old grandson.
Issue of child’s custody will have to be taken up before appropriate court: Apex Court
The bench said that the issue of the custody of the child will have to be taken up before the appropriate court where the trial is on.
“Sorry to say but the child is a stranger to the petitioner. If you wish, please visit the child. In case you want the custody of the child, there is a separate procedure,” the bench said.
Minor child was studying at a boarding school in Haryana, Apex Court was informed
During the hearing, the bench was informed the counsel representing Nikita Singhania, the estranged wife of techie Atul Subhash, that the minor child was studying at a boarding school in Haryana and they have taken out the child from the school.
“We will take the child to Bengaluru. We have taken the child out of school. The mother has to remain in Bengaluru to fulfil the bail conditions,” the counsel told the bench.
Atul Subhash’s mother sought custody of child
Advocate Kumar Dushyant Singh, who represented Atul Subhash’s mother, sought the custody of the child and alleged that her estranged daughter-in-law had kept the location of the child under wraps. The counsel, while relying on old photographs to show that the petitioner grandmother was interacting with the child when he was only a couple of years old, argued that a child below the age of six years should not be sent to a boarding school.
The bench directed that the minor child to be produced before the court on the next date of hearing on January 20, and said that the case couldn’t be decided on the basis of a media trial, news agency PTI reported.
Techie committed suicide in Bengaluru
Atul left behind a 24-page purported death note and a video message in which he talked about the emotional distress he allegedly faced arising out of matrimonial issues, multiple cases getting lodged against him and harassment by his wife and relatives and an Uttar Pradesh-based judge hearing cases related to his marital disputes. The couple had a son in 2020.
Bengaluru court granted bail to Nikita, her mother and brother
The Bengaluru Police registered a case of abetment of suicide against Nikita, her mother, brother and her uncle Sushil Singhania following a complaint lodged by the brother of deceased Atul. Nikita, her mother and her brother were later arrested and brought to Bengaluru after their arrest in the case and sent to 14-day judicial custody after being produced before a local court. They were later granted bail by a Bengaluru court on January 4.
