SC called Atul Subhash’s 4 year old son amid custody hearing, heard his words on VC

During the hearing on the petition of engineer Atul Subhash’s mother, the Supreme Court ordered to present Atul’s son in the court. The court wanted to see Atul Subhash’s 4-year-old son through video conferencing within half an hour. After this the child was introduced through VC. After the suicide of Atul Subhash, his mother Anju Devi has demanded the court to hand over her grandson.

It has been said in the petition that Atul Subhash’s wife Nikita and her family harassed Atul for money by implicating him in a false case. Because of this he had to commit suicide. Now Nikita Singhania’s family is creating obstacles in finding the child. Atul’s son is not safe with them.

Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice SC Sharma are hearing this case.

As the hearing began on Monday, the petitioners sought a week’s time to file a more detailed affidavit, but Justice Nagarathna rejected any such request and said, “This is a habeas corpus case. We Want to see the baby.”

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

Earlier this month, Atul’s wife Nikita Singhania told the court that the boy was a student of a boarding school in Faridabad, Haryana and would be taken to Bengaluru with his mother.

His lawyer then said, “We will take the child to Bengaluru. We have taken the boy out of school. The mother needs to be in Bengaluru to fulfill the bail conditions.” After which the bench of Justice Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh said that the child should be presented before them during the next hearing.

Nikita and her family members – her mother Nisha and her brother Anurag – are accused of instigating 34-year-old Atul Subhash to commit suicide. Both were arrested, although they were later granted bail.

After this, Atul’s mother approached the Supreme Court for the custody of her grandson. He argued that the child was too young to live away from his family.

Atul Subhash and Nikita Singhania were married in 2019. The son was born in 2020. In 2021, Nikita left his Bengaluru house after a fight. Later in 2022, he filed a case against Subhash and his family members.

After two years of fights, Atul Subhash committed suicide in his Bengaluru flat on 9 December. In the 81-minute video and 24-page suicide note, he accused his wife and her family of filing false cases against him and his parents to extort Rs 3 crore.

She also alleged that the justice system is biased in favor of women in such cases. The incident sparked outrage and debate over the misuse of laws meant to protect women from the cruelty of their husbands or in-laws.