New Delhi:

The four-year-old son of Atul Subhash – the Bengaluru techie who died by suicide December – and Nikita Singhania – his estranged wife, whom he had accused of harassment leading to his death – was produced before the Supreme Court Monday evening.

Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice SC Sharma had directed Ms Singhania’s lawyer produce the child via video link. They were hearing a plea by Anju Devi, Mr Subhash’s mother, seeking the boy’s custody.

As the hearing began today, the petitioners sought a week’s time to file a more detailed affidavit. But Justice Nagarathna dismissed any such request, and said, “This is a habeas corpus (petition)… we want to see the child. Produce the child. The court will take up the matter after some time…”

This is the second time in as many hearings the court has demanded to see the boy.

Earlier this month Ms Singhania told the court the boy was a student of a boarding school in Haryana’s Faridabad, and that he would be withdrawn to accompany his mother to Bengaluru.

READ | Court’s “Stranger” Remark As Atul Subhash’s Mom Wants Grandson

“We will take the child to Bengaluru… We have taken the boy out of school. The mother must be in Bengaluru to fulfill bail conditions,” her lawyer said then, after which a bench of Justice Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh said the child had to be produced before it for the next hearing.

Ms Singhania and members of her family – her mother, Nisha; and brother, Anurag – face charges of abetting the suicide of Atul Subhash, 34. Both were arrested and later given bail.

READ | Atul Subhash’s Wife, In-Laws Get Bail In Suicide Abetment Case

After Ms Singhania’s arrest, Ms Devi approached the Supreme Court for custody of her grandson. Mr Subhash’s father, Pawan Kumar, also publicly demanded custody of the young boy.

The petition claimed that neither Ms Singhania, nor her family members had disclosed the child’s whereabouts. Ms Singhania had said then the boy was with her uncle, Sushil Singhania.

READ | Atul Subhash’s Mother Goes To Court For 4-Year-Old Grandson

However, he later denied knowledge of the child’s location. The court then directed the governments of three states – Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana – to provide clarity on the situation.

The court then also noted the boy had spent barely any time with his grandmother.

“Sorry to say the child is a stranger to the petitioner,” Justice Nagarathna remarked, but also acknowledging the issue of custody would first have to be heard by an appropriate lower court.

Atul Subhash and Nikita Singhania were wed in 2019. The son was born in 2020. In 2021, Ms Singhania left the couple’s Bengaluru home after an altercation. In 2022, she filed a case against Mr Subhash and his family members.

After two years of bitter squabbles, Mr Subhash died by suicide at his Bengaluru flat on December 9.

In an 81-minute video and a 24-page suicide note, he accused Ms Singhania and her family of filing false cases against him and his parents to extort Rs 3 crore.

READ | “I Started Saving For Your Car”: Atul Subhash’s Letter To Son, 4

He also alleged the justice system is biased to favour women in such cases. The incident triggered outrage and debate on the misuse of laws created to protect women from cruelty by husband or in-laws.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

Ending weeks of suspense over the whereabouts of AI techie Atul Subhash’s four-year-son, his estranged wife Nikita Singhania told the Supreme Court today that the child is at a boarding school in Haryana’s Faridabad. Nikita’s lawyer added that the child would be taken to Bengaluru where he can stay with his mother.

Thirty-four-year-old Atul Subhash died by suicide in December after accusing Nikita and her family members of harassing him and his parents by filing false cases against them. Nikita, her mother Nisha, and her brother Anurag are facing an abetment to suicide case and are currently out on bail.

Atul’s mother Anju Devi has approached the Supreme Court, seeking custody of her grandson. Nikita’s lawyer told the court today that the four-year-old had been enrolled in a Faridabad boarding school and was there during her mother’s arrest and subsequent bail. The child will, however, need to be shifted to Bengaluru because Nikita needs to be there as per the conditions of her bail.

“We will take the child to Bengaluru. We have taken the boy out of school. The mother has to remain in Bengaluru to fulfill bail conditions,” her lawyer told the bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh.

The bench then directed that the child must be produced in court in the next hearing.

The lawyer representing Anju Devi told the court that as the grandmother, she should be given custody of the child. The lawyer said a child below six should not be sent to a boarding school.

The bench also noted that the child has barely spent time with his grandmother. “Sorry to say but the child is a stranger to the petitioner,” Justice Nagaratna remarked. Anju Devi’s lawyer said they have pictures of the grandmother interacting with the child when he was two years old. Atul and Nikita married in 2019 and had a son the next year. In 2021, Nikita left their Bengaluru home after an altercation and in 2022, she filed a case against Atul and his family members. 

The court also stressed that Nikita Singhania is yet to be proven guilty and that it can’t decide the matter based on a “media trial”.

The bench said that the issue of the child’s custody will have to be taken up in the appropriate court where the trial is on. The next hearing on the matter is on January 20.

Atul Subhash died by suicide at his Bengaluru flat on December 9. In an 81-minute video and a 24-page suicide note, the techie accused Nikita and his family members of filing false cases against him and his parents to extort money from them. He also alleged that the justice system is biased to favour women in such cases.

The incident triggered outrage and a nationwide debate on the misuse of laws created to protect women from cruelty by husband or in-laws.

Atul Subhash died by suicide on December 9.

Prayagraj:

The Allahabad High Court on Monday granted anticipatory bail to Sushil Singhania, uncle of Nikita Singhania, in the suicide case of Artificial Intelligence engineer Atul Subhash.

The order was passed by Justice Ashutosh Srivastava who was hearing an anticipatory bail filed by Atul’s wife Nikita Singhania and in-laws.

Nikita Singhania was arrested from Gurugram, Haryana, while her mother Nisha Singhania and brother Anurag Singhania were picked up from Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj for abetting Subhash’s suicide, a Bengaluru Police official said.

They were arrested on Saturday morning, brought to Bengaluru and sent to 14-days judicial custody after being produced before a local court, he said.

In the Allahabad High Court, senior counsel Manish Tiwary, at the very outset, submitted that the wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law of the deceased have already been arrested by the Bengaluru City Police and the present anticipatory bail application is being pressed on behalf of the applicant Sushil Singhania alone.

It was argued that the arrests have been made on the basis of alleged suicide note and a video which have gone viral over the internet. Sushil Singhania is facing the media trial of the highest level, it was argued.

It was also submitted that Sushil Singhania is an elderly person of 69 years of age and has a chronic medical condition. He is virtually incapacitated and there is no question of him abetting the suicide, it was further submitted.

It was also argued that there is a distinction between abetment and harassment and if the suicide note is taken on its face value, the allegations levelled at most would be taken to be harassment for implicating the deceased in false cases and extracting huge sums of money.

In any case, the offence suicide under Section 108, 3(5) of the BNS cannot be said to be made out, it was argued.

It has also been argued that the Sushil Singhania be granted protection for reasonable time so that he is in a position to place his version before the court and the authorities concerned and take recourse to remedy available to him under the law before the court in the state of Karnataka from where the FIR emanates.

After hearing the counsels for the parties, the court observed, “Considering the above, the court is of the opinion that applicant Sushil Singhania is entitled to get the privilege of pre-arrest (Transit) Anticipatory.” “Accordingly, it is directed that in the event of arrest of the applicant in connection with the case crime no. 0682 of 2024 under Section 108, 3(5) of the BNS, Police Station Marathahalli, Bangaluru City, he shall be released on anticipatory bail in the aforesaid case till the submission of police report, if any under section 173 (2) CrPC on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Magistrate/Court concerned,” the court said.

The court also imposed some conditions like the applicant shall make himself available for interrogation by a police officer as and when required. He shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police office and he shall not leave India without the previous permission of the court.

If the applicant has a passport, it shall be deposited by him before the SSP or SP concerned, the court said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Nikita Singhania, the estranged wife of 34-year-old techie Atul Subhash, changed her location every day, made calls only on WhatsApp and constantly tried to secure anticipatory bail after Atul’s family filed a suicide abetment case against her. But one phone call gave her away and Bengaluru police tracked her down to Gurugram, police sources have told news agency IANS.

While Nikita was arrested from Gurugram, her mother Nisha Singhania and brother Anurag Singhania were taken into custody from Prayagraj. Nikita’s uncle Sushil Singhania, the fourth accused in the suicide abetment case, is on the run. The four have been remanded in judicial custody for two weeks.

According to police sources, the accused had locked up their home in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur soon after Bengaluru police registered the case against them. When Bengaluru police personnel reached Jaunpur, they pasted notices on the Singhanias’ home, asking them to appear within three days. The team also made a list of the family’s close relatives and monitored them. But the accused, the sources said, made calls only on WhatsApp and it was difficult to track them.

In the meantime, the Singhania approached the Allahabad High Court for anticipatory bail.

One Call, One Mistake

While Nikita moved to a PG accommodation in Gurugram, her mother and brother hid in Jhusi town in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district. During this time, they all communicated with relatives via WhatsApp calls. But, Nikita made one call, apparently by mistake, to one of her close relatives. Police tracked the tower location and reached the PG accommodation in Gurugram’s Rail Vihar, the sources said. She was detained and made to make a call to her mother. When Nisha Singhania received the call, police tracked them to Jhusi town and took them into custody.

Cops faced a big question. Where will Atul’s four-year-old son stay? The child was entrusted to one of the family’s relatives. The police recorded the accused’s statements during the transit to Bengaluru.

A Cautious Late-Night Flight

Police sources said a key challenge was to ensure that co-passengers did not recognise Nikita during the journey. The three were taken to Bengaluru on a late night flight. Police sources said they were extra cautious in ensuring that the news of their detention was not out before the team reached Bengaluru. This was because of the outrage sparked by Atul Subhash’s death. Any news of Nikita and her family being taken to Bengaluru may have led to dangerous situations at the airport or elsewhere.

Once in Bengaluru, Nikita, her mother Nisha and brother Anurag were taken for medical examination and then to the magistrate’s residence in the early hours before being sent to prison.

What Nikita Has Told Police

According to police sources, Nikita has said during interrogation that she never harassed Atul and was, in fact, harassed by him. She also said that she wouldn’t have left their home if she wanted money. Atul Subhash, in his 24-page suicide note and 80-minute video, has accused Nikita and her family of filing false cases of cruelty and dowry harassment against him and his family to extort money from them. He has said she had demanded a huge sum of Rs 3 crore to settle the case.

Atul Subhash was found dead last Monday at his Bengaluru residence. Following a complaint by his brother Bikas Kumar, police filed an abetment to suicide case. His family has also said they want custody of the child.

According to preliminary investigation, Atul had planned to die by suicide 15 days before his death. He had searched about legal issues on Google and written the note three days before his death.

New Delhi:

Nearly a week after 34-year-old techie Atul Subhash died by suicide, accusing his estranged wife Nikita and her family members of harassment, several files in a Google Drive link he shared before his death have mysteriously gone missing. The files missing from the shared Google Drive include his 24-page suicide note and a letter titled ‘To Milords’ that criticised the justice system.

While law enforcement authorities have not spoken about this yet, several social media users have alleged a cover-up attempt in the case that has grabbed national headlines and sparked massive outrage. The shared drive now shows a poem titled Death Knows No Fear, a letter addressed to the President and a declaration in which he said he was “not guilty” of any charge levelled by Nikita — these files were present earlier too. 

Several social media posts have alleged a “clean-up” to destroy evidence and urged Bengaluru police to investigate the matter. Some users, who had saved the files earlier, have shared them again on multiple platforms for others to access. Some have also accused law enforcement authorities of getting Google to remove the files from the drive Atul shared before his death. Neither police nor Google have responded to this so far.

Atul Subhash was found dead at his Bengaluru home last Monday. A detailed note, with ‘justice is due’ written on top, was found at his home. Before his death, he shared the note and other material in a Google Drive with open access, and recorded an 80-minute video, narrating his experience of a long-drawn legal fight.

Accusing his estranged wife Nikita, her mother Nisha Singhania, brother Anurag Singhania and uncle Sushil Singhania of harassment and extortion, Atul said Nikita filed false cases of cruelty against him and his family members. He said she had demanded a huge sum of Rs 3 crore to settle the case and used their four-year-old to extort him. Atul said the court had asked him to pay Nikita Rs 80,000 monthly as maintenance for herself and her son, but she wanted a sum of Rs 2 lakh. He also slammed the justice system and alleged that it was biased towards women in such cases.

Following his death, his brother Bikas Kumar filed an abetment to suicide case. Nikita, her mother Nisha Singhania and brother Anurag Singhania have been arrested, while her uncle Sushil is on the run. The three accused were produced in court and remanded in judicial custody for two weeks.

Atul’s family has now asked where his son was and demanded that he be handed over to them.

New Delhi:

Hours after Atul Subhash’s estranged wife Nikita Singhania, her mother Nisha and brother Anurag were arrested for allegedly abetting his suicide, the techie’s father Pawan Kumar Modi has questioned where Atul’s four-year-old son is and said the family was worried about him.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Mr Modi thanked the police for arresting Nikita and her family members in the abetment to suicide case. “We don’t know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We don’t know anything about him. I want my grandson to be with us,” he said.

“I thank the police and law enforcement. At least they have been arrested,” Mr Modi said. The family has decided not to immerse Atul’s ashes till they get justice. “We have brought his ashes. We are religious, but we will not immerse his ashes till we get justice.” Mr Modi alleged that the judge hearing Atul’s case in Jaunpur family court was corrupt. “She asked him for money. He was not someone who would pay bribes. He was ready to pay a penalty, but never bribe.”

#WATCH | Samastipur, Bihar: Atul Subhash suicide case | On the arrest of accused Nikita Singhania, Nisha Singhania and Anurag Singhania, Pawan Kumar Modi, father of deceased Atul Subhash says, “We don’t know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We… pic.twitter.com/8TBQcWtQfM

— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2024

The elderly father, who lost his 34-year-old son last week, broke down and said he had never seen his grandson. The child was born in 2020 and Nikita and Atul separated the next year. “We appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to ensure we get our grandson. I have only seen him on video calls, never held him close. For a grandfather, his grandson is more special than his son,” he said, his voice choking with tears.

Atul Subhash’s brother Bikas Kumar, who filed the abetment to suicide complaint, voiced his father’s concern. “The biggest concern at present to know about the son of my brother. I want to thank Karnataka Police for arresting three persons. Some arrests are pending according to our complaint. We hope it will happen soon,” he told news agency.

Atul Subhash, who was found dead at his Bengaluru home last Monday, listed his last wishes in a 24-page suicide note. One of them was, “Give custody of my child to my parents who can raise him with better values”.

In his 24-page note, the 34-year-old techie accused his estranged wife Nikita, her mother Nisha Singhania, brother Anurag Singhania and uncle Sushil Singhania of harassment and extortion. He alleged that Nikita filed false cases of cruelty against him and his family members and demanded a huge sum of Rs 3 crore to settle the case. Atul also said the court had asked him to pay Nikita Rs 80,000 monthly as maintenance for herself and her son, but she wanted a sum of Rs 2 lakh. Atul also criticised the justice system, saying that the laws were biased to favour women.

“The more I work hard and become better at my work, the more I and my family will be harassed and extorted and the whole legal system will encourage and help my harassers… Now, with me gone, there won’t be any money and there won’t be any reason to harass my old parents and my brother. I may have destroyed my body but it has saved everything I believe in.”

Nikita, her mother and brother have been arrested, taken to Bengaluru and remanded in police custody for 14 days. Her uncle Sushil Singhania, also an accused, is on the run. 

Nikita Singhania, the estranged wife of 34-year-old techie Atul Subhash, her mother Nisha and brother Anurag have been arrested in an abetment to suicide case, days after Atul died by suicide after accusing Nikita and his family of harassment and extortion.

The Singhanias have been produced in court and will be remanded in custody. Earlier, Bengaluru police had asked them to appear within three days.

Nikita Singhania and her family members are at the centre of massive outrage over Atul Subhash’s death by suicide and the allegations he made against them in a 24-page suicide note and an 80-minute video. The 34-year-old techie, originally from Bihar’s Samastipur, was found dead at his Bengaluru flat on Monday. Police found a detailed note at his home, with every page starting with “justice is due”.

In his suicide note and video, Subhash alleged that he married Nikita in 2019 after finding her on a matchmaking website. The couple had a son the next year. He alleged that Nikita and her family would ask him for huge amounts of money to set up businesses. Arguments broke out when he refused and she eventually left home in 2021 with their son.

The next year, Atul alleged, she filed a litany of cases against him and his family members under serious charges of cruelty against a woman, dowry harassment and even murder. The Singhanias accused Atul and his family members of harassing Nikita’s late father for dowry, leading to his death. This case was, however, later withdrawn.

Atul Subhash said before his death that Nikita and her family members had filed multiple cases to harass him and extort a huge sum as alimony and maintenance. He said Nikita had demanded Rs 3 crore to settle the case. He also said that the court had asked him to pay Rs 80,000 monthly as maintenance to Nikita and his son, but she wanted more.

Also targeting the judicial system of favouring women in such cases, Subhash wrote in the note, “The more I work hard and become better at my work, the more I and my family will be harassed and extorted and the whole legal system will encourage and help my harassers… Now, with me gone, there won’t be any money and there won’t be any reason to harass my old parents and my brother. I may have destroyed my body but it has saved everything I believe in.”

He also accused Nikita and her mother Nisha of instigating him to die on two occasions.

Following his death, his brother Bikas Kumar filed an abetment to suicide case against Nikita, her mother Nisha, brother Anurag and uncle Sushil Singhania. Atul’s family alleged that he was under severe stress because of the legal fight and that he had to travel between Bengaluru and Jaunpur 40 times. They also said that Nikita refused to let him meet their son and demanded money for that too. Nikita’s uncle Sushil Singhania earlier told the media that Atul’s allegations are baseless and that they are innocent.

Bengaluru:

The father of Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash who died by suicide, said his son had been “broken from inside” after multiple cases were filed against him and his family by his wife.

Atul Subhash, the 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, died by suicide on Monday in his Bengaluru apartment, leaving behind a 24-page suicide note, accusing his wife and her relatives of harassment. In his suicide note, he also alleged that a judge had demanded Rs 5 lakh to “settle” the case.

“My son used to say that there is a lot of corruption but he will fight as he is on the path of truth…He was broken from inside, though he didn’t tell anyone anything,” Subhash’s father Pawan Kumar told ANI.

Mr Kumar, who currently stays in Bihar’s Samastipur, said Subhash’s wife started filing cases against them in January 2021.

“She started filing cases since January 2021…My son had thought that she had left (their home) after Corona and that their 1-year-old son would grow up a little at his maternal uncle’s home… she also started filing cases against our entire family,” the father said.

Earlier, a four-member team of Bengaluru Police, including one woman police personnel reached Kotwali in Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh. Jaunpur is the residence of Subhash’s in-laws.

The father has alleged that the judge overseeing the case also asked for Rs 5 lakhs to “settle the case”.

“When they went ahead for mediation, it began from Rs 20,000 and then escalated to Rs 40,000; then the judge said that if he (the deceased) wants a settlement, he should give Rs 5 Lakh,” the father said.

Meanwhile, the brother of the deceased, Vikas, said his family had “no idea” that the Bengaluru techie would take such a drastic step.

“We talked to him normally. We had no idea he had decided to take such a step. We had never felt he was going to take such a step. I am in touch with a few of his friends and even they didn’t have any idea of his thoughts,” the brother said.

The brother also alleged that there had been “false cases” filed on him and his family too, saying that his brother had been mentally tortured.

“False cases have been filed on me, and my parents, just like they were filed on my brother. Action should be taken against all those who mentally tortured my brother and filed false cases against him,” the brother said.

He further claimed that Atul Subhash also wrote to various leaders and institutes, including the President and the Supreme Court, explaining his situation in detail.

“If those emails have reached them, we hope action is taken and some laws, forums, or committees are made where men can go to seek justice… Laws and provisions made to empower women are today being misused,” the brother added.

Earlier on December 11, the SC also expressed concern over the growing tendency to misuse Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which penalises cruelty by husbands and their relatives against married women.

While quashing a Section 498A IPC case against a husband and his parents in a different case, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh said that the Section became a tool for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family by a wife.

Atul Subhash died by suicide in the early hours of December 9 after alleging harassment from his wife and her family.

Subhash wrote “Justice is due” on every page of a 24-page note. He also alleged in his suicide note that his wife had filed nine cases against him under various sections, including murder, sexual misconduct, harassment for money, domestic violence, and dowry.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Mere harassment is not sufficient to hold someone guilty of abetment to suicide, the Supreme Court has said, adding that there must be evidence of direct or indirect incitement for conviction in such cases. The order comes amid a massive row over 34-year-old techie Atul Subhash’s death by suicide. In an 81-minute video and a 24-page note, Subhash accused his estranged wife Nikita Singhania and her family members of harassment and extortion. Based on a complaint by Atul’s family, Bengaluru police have registered an abetment to suicide case against Nikita and three others.

The Supreme Court’s order came while it was hearing a challenge against a Gujarat High Court order that refused relief to a man and his family members accused of abetting his wife’s suicide.

“For a conviction under Section 306 of the IPC, it is a well-established legal principle that the presence of clear mens rea – the intention to abet the act – is essential. Mere harassment, by itself, is not sufficient to find an accused guilty of abetting suicide,” the bench said in its December 10 order.

The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice PB Varale said the prosecution must demonstrate an active or direct action by the accused that led the deceased to die by suicide. In the Gujarat case, the court discharged the accused in the abetment to suicide case, but upheld the charge under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with cruelty against a woman by her husband or his family members.

The bench said that the woman married in 2009 and the couple had no children for five years after the wedding. For this reason, she was allegedly harassed physically and mentally. In 2021, she died by suicide and her father accused her husband and in-laws of abetment and cruelty. The sessions court ordered the framing of charges against them under both counts and the high court upheld this.

The top court, however, said, “For a person to be charged under this section (306), the prosecution must establish that the accused contributed to the act of suicide by the deceased.”

“Thus, in cases of death of a wife, the court must meticulously examine the facts and circumstances of the case, as well as assess the evidence presented. It is necessary to determine whether the cruelty or harassment inflicted on the victim left them with no other option but to end their life,” it said.

“Mere allegations of harassment are insufficient to establish guilt. For a conviction, there must be evidence of a positive act by the accused, closely linked to the time of the incident, that compelled or drove the victim to commit suicide,” the court added.

In this case, the court said, it prima facie appeared that the accused did not commit any direct act or instigate the act of suicide.

The Supreme Court, however, upheld the cruelty charge. “The appellants’ argument that the deceased had not made a single complaint for cruelty or harassment against the appellants in the 12 years of marriage cannot be sustained. Merely because she did not file any complaint for twelve years does not guarantee that there was no instance of cruelty or harassment,” it said, giving a go-ahead to the trial under this count.

The Supreme Court’s order in this case comes against the backdrop of a massive row surrounding Atul Subhash’s death by suicide. The 34-year-old has detailed in a 24-page note alleged remarks by his wife Nikita and her mother Nisha that drove him to the edge. Bengaluru Police have filed an abetment to suicide case against Nikita, her mother Nisha, brother Anurag and uncle Sushil Singhania and a probe is on.