The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up the plea of Atul Subhash’s mother, who had sought custody of her four-year-old grandson. The court noted that the child still has a living parent and described Subhash’s mother as “virtually a stranger” to the young boy.
If you want to go for custody, there is a different process for that,” one of the judges told her. The court implored Subhash’s mother not to label her daughter-in-law as the culprit until proved so and instead advised her to visit the child.
Although the bench, headed by Justice Bela M. Trivedi, refused to grant custody to Akshita, it decided to keep the habeas corpus petition also pending until January 20. To queries on the current whereabouts of the child, Nikita Singhania’s counsel informed the court that she was still in her custody. Nikita Singhania, who is right now in judicial custody, was released on bail by the Sessions Court last Saturday.
Karnataka High Court, recently making an oral observation, observed that it cannot pass an order to reject the complaint filed against Nikita Singhania on allegations of abetting the suicide of her husband, for it prima facie satisfies the offense. It may be noted here that in connection with this, Nikita Singhania and others were granted bail over the weekend by a court in Bengaluru in the suicide abetment case.
Atul Subhash, a 34-year-old techie, tragically took his own life on December 9, citing harassment from his estranged wife and her family. According to the prosecution, the trio was summoned to court following allegations that they had pressured Subhash to pay Rs 3 crore for a divorce. The police acted on a 40-page suicide note and a one-and-a-half-hour video in which Subhash detailed the circumstances that led to his drastic decision, leading to their arrest and transfer from Uttar Pradesh to Bengaluru.
