In an unsettling turn of events, a 34-year-old software engineer Atul Subhash committed suicide at his home in Marathahalli, Bengaluru, leaving a 24-page suicide note behind. He had pasted a sheet of paper with the words ‘Justice is Due’ while killing himself. In a roughly one-and-a-half-hour video posted on Rumble on 9th December, the man stated that he was taking extreme measures owing to harassment by his wife and her family. In the video, Atul Subhash said that his estranged wife who works in a reputed software company had filed nine bogus cases against him and was seeking an unreasonable maintenance amount (Rs 3 crores).
According to the police, Subhash had dropped a message on the WhatsApp group of an NGO dealing with domestic harassment-related issues. In his message, the techie informed about his decision to end his life. Reports say that the victim was suffering from depression. On Tuesday, a member of the group saw Subash’s message and alerted the police. Subsequently, the police reached Subash’s location and found his dead body hanging with a note pasted on his chest reading “Justice is Due”. The police recovered several A4 sheets containing information about Atul Subhash’s routine as well as information related to the legal battle he was involved in.
“He had pasted a detailed to-do list before ending his life, and titled it ‘Final task before Mukti’ and pasted it on a cupboard in the room. It also had instructions on where his death note and keys were kept, along with a list of completed and pending tasks over two days,” the police said.
In the video, Atul Subhash said that shortly after the marriage, his wife returned to Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh from Bengaluru and filed dowry harassment and domestic violence cases against Subhash and his parents. Mentioning the names of his wife and her family, Subhash said that these five people are responsible for his death. The victim said that his wife and in-laws hatched a big conspiracy to extort money and his family members were implicated in false cases.
Further in the video, Atul said that till now 120 court dates have been fixed and Atul himself had gone from Bangalore to Jaunpur 40 times. Apart from this, his parents and brother also have to visit the court. It is surprising that nothing happens in the court on most of the dates and sometimes the judge is not there and there is a strike. During the hearing, the lawyer of any party can demand the next date.
Atul also said that he used to get only 23 holidays in a year and he was tired of this system. He added that his wife has filed 6 cases in the lower court and three at the High Court. Atul Subhash alleged that his wife made false allegations against his parents and brother like murder, attempt to murder, unnatural sex, domestic violence, and taking dowry. He emphasised that these allegations have such sections in which it is difficult to get bail. The wife alleged in one case that in 2019, Atul’s family demanded a dowry of Rs 10 lakh, due to this shock her father died. It was proved in the cross-examination that Nikita’s father had heart disease which led to his death and it was due to his illness that their wedding was hastened. Later in the video, Atul alleged that his wife demanded alimony of Rs 2 lakh every month in exchange for divorce. She also kept their child away and was Atul never allowed to meet him.
Moreover, Atul Subhash alleged that bribing the bench clerk (Peshkar) was required to get a date in the court of the Jaunpur Principal Family Court. Atul alleged that the judge in the court pressured him to pay maintenance of three crore rupees. Also, the judge allegedly asked for five lakh rupees to settle the case this month. When he said that his wife was instigating him to commit suicide, the judge laughed. In 2022, the same judge had earlier also allegedly demanded three lakh rupees bribe through the Peshkar. When Atul did not give the bribe, alimony and maintenance orders were issued, in which he had to pay 80 thousand rupees every month.
In a page from the alleged ‘suicide note’, Atul has written that the judge in UP’s family court where his wife has filed a case against him, was seeking Rs 5 lakhs in bribe to ‘settle’ the case. He added that the judge also laughed when the wife asked him why he has not committed suicide yet.
In his suicide note, Atul Subhash listed several of his last wishes with one being that all his case hearings should happen live and “people of this country should know about my case and learn the terrible state of the legal system and misuse of law these women are doing.” Another is that his suicide video and not be admitted as his statement and evidence.
Expressing his apprehension that the said judge might “tamper” the documents, pressurise witnesses causing an adverse effect on other cases. “Based on my experience, the Bengaluru courts are relatively more law-abiding than UP courts too. I request to run the cases in Karnataka in the interest of Justice and keep her in Judicial and Police Custody in Bengaluru till the trial goes on. Below is the judgment on why Justice is also seen to be done. I hope that it also applies to men,” Subash’s suicide note reads.
Atul Subhash’s suicide has sparked a debate on social media around India’s judicial system and the legal hustle one has to go through to find justice. His last two X posts have gone viral.
@elonmusk @realDonaldTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr @TeamTrump I will be dead when you will read this. A legal genocide of men happening in India currently.
— Atul Subhash (@AtulSubhas19131) December 8, 2024
https://t.co/wMGmBfoKxd
In one of these posts, Subhash said that a “legal genocide of men” is ongoing in the country.
A dead man is requesting @elonmusk @realDonaldTrump to save millions of life from Woke Ideologies, Abortion, DEI and restore freedom of speech in India.(more) https://t.co/lCEvAoheu4
— Atul Subhash (@AtulSubhas19131) December 8, 2024
In the other, he appealed to Elon Musk and US President-elect Donald Trump to “save” people from woke ideologies, and “restore freedom of speech” in India. “A dead man is requesting @elonmusk @realDonaldTrump to save millions of life from Woke Ideologies, Abortion, DEI and restore freedom of speech in India,” Subhash said.
Meanwhile, appalled by the incident, netizens are demanding justice for Subhash under #JusticeforAtulSubhash. Many social media handles are also circulating pictures of a woman, allegedly Atul’s estranged wife, and calling her names.
