Rajat Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India TV.
Today, with a very sad heart, I want to tell you about the painful suicide of a 34-year-old young man. This software engineer committed suicide after being fed up with the false cases filed by his wife and the demand for Rs 3 crore. This case is an example of how cruel our anti-dowry law is, how it can be misused and how this blind law ruined a young man and his entire family. He got tired of making rounds of the court. He kept crying in front of the police with folded hands and when there was no hope left for justice, he committed suicide by hanging himself.
Before embracing death, Atul wrote a 24-page note. Then made a video of one and a half hour. He told his whole story, told his last wish, then wrote and pasted on the wall that Justice Is Due and committed suicide by hanging himself. What Atul Subhash wrote in his suicide note, what he said in his last video, will give you goosebumps. Atul was a software engineer, had a good job in Bengaluru, good salary, but in the last three years due to differences with his wife, the matter reached the court. A case was registered under anti-dowry law. Then 9 cases were registered one after the other.
Atul got troubled by traveling from Bangalore to Jaunpur to appear in the court, his parents and brother also got entangled in the cases. The wife asked for Rs 3 crore for the settlement. Instead of getting justice from the court, we kept getting date after date. Atul became so upset with the system that he chose death instead of life. Now Bengaluru Police will interrogate Atul’s wife and his family. A case has been registered for forcing Atul to commit suicide. But what will happen from this? The son of those old parents, who was the support of their old age, will not return. Today, whoever saw the pictures of Atul’s mother crying loudly and falling unconscious, his heart burst.
Atul’s death again raised questions on dowry law. Question marks were raised on our justice system. It is true that nothing is important in life, death is not the solution to any problem. But Atul’s death forced everyone to think. Atul Subhash’s parents live in Samastipur, Bihar. He committed suicide in Bangalore on Monday night. Before committing suicide, Atul wrote a suicide note, uploaded his video, sent e-mails related to his case to his acquaintances and an NGO. Along with this, he also sent a mail to the High Court and the Supreme Court and told his entire story.
Atul wrote that he is fed up with his wife Nikita Singhania and her family. Instead of getting justice from the court, we are getting date after date. Atul wrote in the suicide note that his parents and brother were also suffering due to the litigation against him. There is only one way to get rid of these troubles, suicide. Atul’s wife lives in Delhi and is a software engineer. The wife filed 9 separate cases against Atul under IPC section 498 along with many other sections in Jaunpur.
Atul said in his video that more than 120 court dates have been scheduled in the last two years. They get only 23 leaves in a year. But he has made 40 trips from Bangalore to Jaunpur to appear in the court. Every time I got nothing but trouble and a new date. Atul said that his wife has implicated his entire family in a false case. Apart from dowry harassment, she has also filed a case of assault, threats and even murder of her father. Atul said that the wife is also demanding Rs 30 lakh in exchange for meeting her four-year-old son. He can neither see his parents and brother making rounds of the court, nor can he stay away from his child, nor can he pay so much money. Therefore, the only way to attain salvation is to give up one’s life.
In his suicide note, Atul has written about his mother-in-law Nisha Singhania. Atul has written that his mother-in-law asked why have you not committed suicide yet? In response to this, Atul said that if he dies, how will your party run? Atul wrote in the suicide note that after this his mother-in-law said that the party will still go on, your father will give the money, after the death of the husband everything belongs to the wife. In his video, Atul described this matter of his mother-in-law as the biggest reason for his suicide and said that the whole game is being run only with the money given by her. Therefore, if you commit suicide, this matter will also end.
Atul expressed his last wish in the video. Advised his family members to never meet his wife Nikita Singhania or his family members without a camera or two-four people accompanying him, otherwise he would make some new allegations. Atul said that after his death, his wife and no member of her family should be allowed to come near his mortal remains. In his video, Atul raised serious questions on the functioning of the lower level judiciary. Among the five people whom he held responsible for his death, the first name is that of the Lady Judge of the Family Court of Jaunpur.
Atul alleges that the Family Court judge supports his wife and her family in harassing him. He had asked for money in return for settling the case. The court clerks also used to take money and set such dates which would cause them trouble. Atul said he hoped that at least his family would get justice after the suicide. Atul said in his last video that if action is not taken against the judge and corrupt court employees even after his death, then his ashes should be thrown into the drain outside the court.
This statement of Atul is a severe attack on our system. It is a coincidence that on Tuesday itself the Supreme Court also expressed concern over the misuse of anti-dowry law. Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotishwar Singh said that Section 498A was added to the IPC to protect women from dowry harassment, but now this law is being used more to implicate the husband as well as his family. The Supreme Court said that when domestic disputes escalate, it is often seen that the wife and her family file a case against the husband’s entire family so that their demands can be met. The Supreme Court advised the lower courts to deal with dowry cases very carefully, if the wife makes allegations against her husband’s entire family, then they should investigate such cases closely.
Atul Subhash’s suicide raises many questions. Was it Atul’s fault that he had a rift with his wife? Was his fault that he did not have Rs 3 crore for the settlement? Was his fault that he did not pay money to some people in the court? How painful it can be for any person to go from Bangalore to Jaunpur again and again to fight a case. Losing hope of justice from the court can cause so much pain. Atul’s case is a vivid example of this. There is a need to listen carefully and understand what the Supreme Court said about the dowry law.
The Supreme Court said that the dowry law was made to protect women from dowry harassment. But now in any family dispute, this law is used to implicate the husband and his family. Actually, Section 498A of IPC is the law in which the police can arrest without warrant and there is no bail in this case. Twenty times such cases have come before the Supreme Court and the High Court and the courts have repeatedly said that before filing an FIR in a family dispute, the police should conduct a preliminary investigation.
There should be a family welfare committee in every district to reach a settlement, but nothing happened. There are two decisions of the court which need to be mentioned here. The Calcutta High Court had said that women had created ‘legal terror’ by misusing Section 498A and the Allahabad High Court had said that ‘every matter related to marriage’ was rife with allegations of dowry-related harassment. -Are being presented as a gift. If its misuse continues like this, it will ‘completely destroy’ the institution of marriage.
Despite such strong warnings from the courts, this law still remains as it is and thousands of families have been ruined. Thousands of old parents are in jail. There is no hope of justice. Atul’s case points towards this tragedy. His mother is asking for justice with folded hands but this law is so strict that any wife can use it to torture her husband and force him to commit suicide. And this opinion has been expressed repeatedly by the courts.
That is why if any lesson is to be learned from the death of Atul Subhash, then it would be that this law should be made such that no one can misuse it. Then no Atul should be forced to commit suicide because of false cases. Atul had written on the wall that justice is yet to be achieved. However, when will Atul get justice and our leaders will get time to consider the anti-dowry law, it is difficult to say right now because instead of considering the problems of the people, there is an uproar in the Parliament on other issues. (Rajat Sharma)
Watch: ‘Aaj Ki Baat, Rajat Sharma Sath’ full episode of December 11, 2024
