Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash’s mother moves SC for custody of grandson
Days after Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash died by suicide allegedly due to harassment by his wife and in-laws, his mother has moved the Supreme Court seeking custody of her grandson, saying the minor was in illegal custody of some unknown persons.
In a habeas corpus petition filed through Advocate-on-Record Kumar Dushyant Singh, Anju Devi sought to highlight the fact that the child’s biological father and natural guardian was no more and his biological mother Nikita Singhania and maternal grandmother were under arrest.
Alleging that the minor was in illegal custody of some unknown persons, she wanted the top court to order the authorities to produce the child. Fearing for the life and liberty of her grandson, Devi urged the court to hand over the child's custody to her as she was the paternal grandmother of the minor.
A Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice N Kotishwar Singh on Friday asked the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka to ascertain the whereabouts of the minor child and posted the matter for further hearing on January 7, 2025.
The direction came after senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal, representing Devi, expressed apprehensions about the child’s safety.
“In the midst of all these things, the whereabouts of the subject child is unknown and in all possibilities the child is detailed in the illegal custody of a person who is not authorised in law to have his custody,” the petitioner submitted.
It has been learnt from the Bengaluru Police that Nikita disclosed the location of the minor child at Faridabad, Haryana but refused to disclose any further information about his whereabouts, the petitioner said.
Atul Subhash, a 34-year-old software engineer who died by suicide in Bengaluru on December 9, left a 24-page suicide note and an 80-minute video in which he accused his estranged wife and her family of slapping nine cases on him and his family to extort money from them.
On a complaint lodged by Atul’s brother, Nikita was arrested from Gurugram, Haryana, on December 15, while her mother and brother were arrested from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, the same day. They have been booked under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and certain other provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
