New Delhi: The tragic suicide of Atul Subhash, a Bengaluru-based engineer, has ignited a firestorm of controversy across India, sparking intense debate surrounding gender bias in the legal system and prompting calls for significant reforms.
Netizens have started an online campaign on X (formerly Twitter) with #JusticeForAtulSubhash to get the victim’s family out of trouble. Some of the netizens are demanding strict action against the woman for pushing Atul to the extreme.
“Wake up GOI and reframe the laws..if men and women are equal in the eyes of law they must be treated equally and not women bashing men in the name of feminism and faulty laws!,” X user wrote.
Wake up GOI and reframe the laws..if men and women are equal in the eyes of law they must be treated equally and not women bashing men in the name of feminism and faulty laws! #JusticeForAtulSubhash #MenToo #AtulSubhash pic.twitter.com/akwtTEg2ba
— Rricha Maheshwari (@Richa_Mahesh) December 10, 2024
“This part of our legal system needs a complete overhaul. So many innocent men and their families are being tortured. Imagine what #AtulSubhash must be going through during his last moments,” one more X user posted.
This part of our legal system needs a complete overhaul. So many innocent men and their families are being tortured. Imagine what #AtulSubhash must be going through during his last moments.#JusticeForAtulSubhash pic.twitter.com/y0WTsQMOfB
— Pranav Mahajan (@pranavmahajan) December 10, 2024
Atul’s 24-page suicide note and accompanying 90-minute video expose a harrowing tale of alleged harassment, false accusations and the perceived inadequacy of legal protection for men facing similar situations.
Atul, originally from Uttar Pradesh, worked for a private firm in Bengaluru. His family alleges that his estranged wife levelled numerous false charges against him, leading to relentless legal battles and immense emotional distress. The family contends that Indian laws are heavily skewed in favour of women, leaving men with little recourse when facing false accusations.
They have publicly appealed to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for justice and a thorough investigation into their son’s death.
Atul’s father, Pawan Kumar, described his son’s frustration with the legal system, detailing Atul’s numerous trips between Bengaluru and Jaunpur, his hometown, to navigate the ongoing legal proceedings. He highlighted the perceived bias within the mediation court and lamented the unrelenting barrage of accusations from his son’s estranged wife.
“It’s 100% true (the allegations of the deceased against his wife and her family)… We cannot express the level of tension that our son would have been in,” Pawan Kumar said.
“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 added.
He emphasised that while Atul suffered immensely, he never fully revealed the extent of his distress to his family. “He (victim) had said to us that those in the mediation court do not work as per law, not even as per the rules of the Supreme Court. He had to go to Jaunpur from Bengaluru at least 40 times. She (the deceased’s wife) used to frame one charge after another. He must have been frustrated but never let us feel that,” he said.
Bikas Kumar, deeply distraught, said that his brother had been battling not only legal cases but also the emotional turmoil that came with them. “Every law in India is for women, and not for men,” he said. “My brother fought for justice, but he couldn’t win. Like Bhagat Singh woke up the nation for a cause, my brother also wanted to awaken people to the atrocities faced by men in such situations.”
According to Bikas, Atul was an upstanding man who had always done his best for his wife, even during difficult times. “He did everything possible for her,” Bikas said. “In his suicide note, he wrote, ‘If I win from the system, devote my mortal remains in Ganga, otherwise in a gutter outside the court.’ My brother did everything he could. What happened was tragic, and if he had discussed it with me or our father, we would have helped him out of this situation.”
Bikas is now calling for action and justice, particularly for men who are subjected to similar harassment. He has reached out to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging them to take action and bring justice for his brother. “We need a law to protect men too,” he added. “Men are harassed as well, and people in the system should realise this. The judiciary should be fair to both men and women.”
In his suicide note, Atul also mentioned a particular judge, whom he accused of bias. Bikas is now demanding an investigation into the judge’s conduct, asking the government to either prove his brother’s innocence or show evidence of his guilt. “There should be a proper investigation against the judge named in my brother’s suicide note,” he said.
Atul’s friend, Jackson, revealed more details about the emotional and psychological toll Atul endured. According to Jackson, Atul was under tremendous pressure due to the nine cases filed against him by his wife. “He wasn’t depressed in the traditional sense,” Jackson explained. “But he felt harassed by both his wife and the system. It was more like his way of telling the system that it wasn’t helping men and that there is a lot of bias.”
Jackson also spoke about the strain in Atul’s marriage. He recounted that Atul had gone to great lengths to care for his wife when she contracted COVID-19, even procuring medicines for her when she was reluctant to take them. However, the situation escalated, and eventually, Atul’s wife left him, taking their child with her. “The last I heard from Atul was about a court order demanding Rs 40,000 per month in maintenance for his son,” Jackson added, noting the financial and emotional toll this placed on Atul.
