In a shocking incident in Bengaluru, Atul Subhash, a young IT professional, ended his life, leaving behind a chilling 24-page suicide note and a 90-minute video. Atul was found with a sheet hanging from his chest that read: “Justice is due.” He claimed that he was psychologically harassed by his wife, which brought him to the brink of the abyss The lawsuits filed were frivolous when he responded to the allegations made against him in the video. In the Law of Evidence it is assumed that there is “nemo moriturus praesumitur mentire,” meaning that a mortal will not meet his Creator with a lie in his mouth. The courts must decide whether it is effective by holding the perpetrators accountable. Legal proceedings were initiated and under relevant provisions of Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS) i.e. Section 108 and Section 3(5), abetment of suicide with common intention, an FIR was registered against Atul’s wife and her relatives.
Legal proceedings were initiated and under relevant provisions of Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS) i.e. Section 108 and Section 3(5), abetment of suicide with common intention, an FIR was registered against Atul’s wife and her relatives.
The disturbing incident should have led to collective introspection and a critical assessment of the laws protecting against their misuse – a concern raised by the Supreme Court and, more recently, the Supreme Court Supreme Court. Justice BV Nagrathna had observed that “there is a growing tendency to misuse provisions like Section 498A of the IPC as a tool to unleash a personal vendetta by a wife against the husband and his family”. In the next paragraph, she explained the Court’s intent and addressed the relevance of the provision to cruelty cases, which was conveniently overlooked.
Coincidentally, the verdict was announced amid the raging uproar on social media, and the part that could be used as fuel added fuel to the already explosive narrative. The valorization of the tragedy by the mainstream media and social media has effectively burnt its bread at the stake of Atul Subhash, who was the victim of a systematic abuse of justice. The narrative was quickly hijacked by sites aligned with fundamentalist ideologies and promoting Hindutva, with social media algorithms set by default to capture and disseminate right-wing propaganda, as highlighted in the 2021 study ‘Algorithmic amplification of politics on Twitter‘.
Source: South China Morning Post
Social media, as our primary source of news consumption, has acted as a wall between information and misinformation. The problem was compounded by the mainstream media joining in the divisive charade, reducing what should have been meaningful discourse to hollow and polarized outrage that denigrated gender equality and feminism. The history of the feminist movement in India is important to shed light on this issue.
Laws born of struggle: a historical perspective
Laws are not created in isolation; They arise from a collective demand for justice that is shaped by the urgent needs of society. Any legislation, especially those with criminal sanctions, is a reaction to the historical understanding of certain events. Some have their roots in conservative, positivist thinking, while others emerge from the struggles of society seeking reform. The inclusion of Section 498A (cruelty to a woman by her husband or his relatives) in the Penal Code was an important response in the fight against epistemic injustice to curb domestic violence. Since domestic violence is fundamentally a gender-specific problem based on systematic inequalities, the law that deals with it favors the protection of the victims, i.e. women.
The demand for codified personal laws to combat inequalities was first taken up by the All-India Women’s Commission in the 1930s. The publication of Renuka RoyThe influential pamphlet “Legal Disabilities of Indian Women: A Plea for a Commission of Inquiry” also triggered action. The demand led to the formation of a committee headed by Sir BN Rau, which included no women, and which submitted its report in 1944. Afterwards, another committee was formed, including Dr. and more.
Source: FII
Preeminent feminists of the freedom movement supported the bill. Nevertheless, the bill faced stiff opposition from the upper echelons of the political establishment, leading to the dilution of the Hindu Code Act and the eventual resignation of Dr. Ambedkar led in protest. The feminist organizations challenged the same, but most of the preeminent feminist leaders were part of the incumbent party and the momentum gradually faded.
In 1961 the Dowry Prohibition ActA loosely worded and largely ineffective law, it was enacted as a symbolic measure to protect women in marital relationships and served as a poor substitute for substantive reform since there was no feminist movement for two decades when the feminist movement gained momentum in the 1970s . The existing social problems are getting worse penetration of capitalism Dowry commercialized in India. It became an epidemic, infiltrating communities where it was never common, for example among Dalits.
The existing social problems are getting worse penetration of capitalism Dowry commercialized in India. It became an epidemic, infiltrating communities where it was never common, for example among Dalits.
The Shahada Movement of 1973 became one of the pioneering feminist movements in independent India, pushing society towards parity in all forms. The movement began as a resistance by the landless workers of the Bhil tribe against land expropriation and evolved with women’s participation in social reforms, including campaigns against domestic violence. The women’s collective went to the alcohol bars and wreaked havoc on the bars as the drunken men would resort to domestic violence.
The movement resonated with the masses and became an effective campaign against domestic violence that challenged systemic abuse. The Progressive Organization of Women led the first protest against dowry cruelty in Hyderabad in 1975. The campaign only gained momentum when the Supreme Court overturned the Bombay High Court verdict Tuka Ram and Anrs vs State of Maharashtra Acquittal of the accused police officers.
Source: Canva
In Delhi, several organizations such as Stri Sangharsh, Janwadi Mahila Samiti and Mahila Dakshata Samiti fought to criminalize dowry-related harassment and death. The Mathura rape case The agitation led to the unification of feminist voices against rape and became the channel for actual action, leading to the Criminal Amendment Act of 1983, which made cruelty provisions in the Penal Code, amended the Evidence Act and provided for compulsory post-mortem of women who died in early marriage. The Criminal Amendment Act 1986 introduced the provision of death by dowry into the criminal law.
The current discourse and remedy
Male suicide is a real problem. According to the International Institute of Population Sciences Indian men are 2.5 times higher higher risk than women of dying by suicide. According to NCRB data in 2021, about 1 lakh men died by suicide in all age groupsMarital status, education or occupation. The current discourse on men’s rights, which turns into a denigration of equality, is a testament to the deep-rooted patriarchy and misogyny in Indian society and, of course, would not help prevent men’s suicide.
It can be said irrefutably that the misuse of the law will always be a matter of concern, but the fact that the law cannot be outdated until gender equality is achieved. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2024The predictions for parity are grim, with the report predicting that “it will take 134 years to reach full parity – about five generations beyond the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target.”
The NCRB’s statistics on domestic violence, particularly acquittal rates and aggravation of non-compoundable offences, are widely cited and often trigger heated debates surrounding the topic. But the crucial aspect of the alarmingly high acquittal rates is that they may not be due to guilt, but rather to a botched investigation that inadvertently favors the defendant. Domestic violence cases are inherently prone to gaps in evidence and often fear or coercion.
Domestic violence cases are inherently prone to gaps in evidence and often fear or coercion.
Senior Advocate Indira Jaising writes: “Without analyzing the cause of the acquittal, compassion for the man’s family is misplaced… one overlooks the fact that wives are portrayed as vindictive when they use the criminal law.” Civil law is notoriously expensive. If anything, statistics point to a dysfunctional and moribund legal system.”
Source: FII
In a series of precedents, the judiciary has often taken a different stance on domestic violence, describing the provision as a tool of “weaponization” or “legal terrorism” and more. The justice system must Get past the surface of interpersonal conflict and delve into the deeper underlying factors that shape the everyday reality of women’s lives. A sensitive, informed and morally upright judiciary is the best legal defense against injustice. Atul Subash’s allegations against the chairman must be investigated to maintain people’s trust in the judiciary. Those in charge of the court, the lawyers, are equally responsible for calling a spade a spade and striving to bridge the gap between the law and lived experience.
