OPINION | Justice for Atul Subhash: Amend anti-dowry law soon

The suicide of a 34-year-old Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash, harassed by his wife and in-laws in legal tangles, has caused pain to millions of people. Atul left behind a 24-page suicide note and an 81-minute video before he committed suicide. In his emotional suicide note, Atul wrote, "Don't do my 'Asthi Visarjan' till my harassers get punished. If the court decides that my wife and other harassers are not guilty, then pour my ashes into some gutter outside the court." He further wrote, "There shall be no negotiations, settlements and mediations with these evil people and the culprits must be punished. My wife should not be allowed to withdraw cases to escape punishment unless she explicitly accepts that she has filed false cases."

The techie uploaded his video on the internet titled, "This ATM is closed permanently. A legal genocide is happening in India". The video detailed "abuse and harassment" that he went through from his wife and in-laws. Atul's wife Nikita Singhania had filed nine cases against him and had demanded Rs 3 crore for settlement. It exposes the dark side of our dowry prohibition law that is being misused by people. The techie after making frequent travels from Bengaluru to Jaunpur, in UP, to attend court hearings, became tired. He pleaded before police and judge with folded hands, but did not get justice. Tired and depressed, Atul wrote the suicide note, recorded the video, wrote "Justice is Due" on the wall of his room and hanged himself. 
   
Atul worked as a software engineer. For the last three years, he had quarrels with his wife and their dispute reached the courts. His parents and brother were also made parties to these legal disputes. Atul was so much exasperated with the system that he decided to choose death over life. His aged parents are now weeping over the loss of their son.  This suicide has raised questions about our judicial system and dowry prevention law. I agree that death is no solution to problems, but this suicide has forced all of us to think. Atul's parents live in Samastipur, Bihar.  Before he committed suicide in Bengaluru, he uploaded his video on internet and forwarded his legal cases to his acquaintances,  an NGO and the High Court and Supreme Court. His wife had filed nine different cases under Section 498 IPC and other sections in Jaunpur. Atul had to attend more than 120 court hearings in the last two years. He used to get 23 days’ holiday in his company every year, and already he had made 40 rounds of Jaunpur from Bengaluru.
     
Atul's suicide note is a serious blow to our system. A day before, the Supreme Court had strongly criticized the growing misuse of Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, commonly known as the anti-dowry provision, noting that it is increasingly being exploited to settle 'personal vendettas' or exert undue pressure on husbands and their families. The bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh had said, "There has been a growing tendency to use Section 498A as a tool to unleash personal vendetta against the husband and his family members.” The bench said there was a need for judicial scrutiny to prevent unwarranted implications of innocent individuals.  The apex court advised lower courts to strike a balance between protecting the rights of women and ensure fair treatment for those accused.
   
The Bengaluru techie's suicide raises several questions. Was it Atul's crime that he had quarrels with his wife? Was it his crime that he did not have Rs 3 crore to strike a compromise deal with his wife? Was it his crime that he did not give bribes to lower court staff? For any individual, frequent travels between Bengaluru and Jaunpur are nothing but woes. Yet, he did not get justice from courts. One must go through the Supreme Court's observations made on Tuesday in a dowry harassment case. Supreme Court has said that the anti-dowry law was made to protect married women from dowry harassment. But to use this provision of Section 498-A IPC in all family dispute cases is nothing but a blatant misuse of the law.

Under Section 498-A, police have the power to arrest accused without any warrant, and normally bail is not granted in such cases. There had been scores of such cases in which families were unduly harassed under anti-dowry law provisions. Courts had advised the formation of a Family Welfare Committee in every district to bring compromise between couples. But this did not happen.    I would like to mention two more observations from two High Courts. Calcutta High Court had said that misuse of Section 498-A IPC is nothing but "legal terror" unleashed by some women litigants. Allahabad High Court had said that almost every case relating to marriage is being exaggerated as a dowry harassment case. The High Court opined that if this misuse continued, the very institution of marriage might come to an end. 

Thousands of families in India have been adversely affected due to misuse of this provision. Aged fathers and mothers are spending time in jail, with no sign of justice. Atul's case points towards this tragedy. His weeping parents are seeking justice with folded hands. But the law is so strict that any married woman can misuse it and harass her husband and can even force the latter to commit suicide. Courts have frequently given their opinions on this matter. We should learn a lesson from Atul's death. The law must be amended to ensure that no one can misuse its provision.  No more Atuls must be forced to commit suicide in future. It is difficult to say when Atul's family will get justice and when our leaders will get time to do a rethink about anti-dowry law provisions.

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