New Delhi:
Custody of the four-year-old son of Atul Subhash – the Bengaluru techie who died by suicide December – and Nikita Singhania – his estranged spouse, whom he had accused of harassment resulting in his demise – will stay along with his mom, the Supreme Court docket mentioned Monday night.
Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice SC Sharma delivered the decision – in response to a plea by Anju Devi, Mr Subhash’s mom, who sought the boy’s custody – after chatting with the kid by way of a video hyperlink.
Because the listening to started at this time, the petitioner sought every week’s time to file a extra detailed affidavit. However Justice Nagarathna dismissed any such request, and mentioned, “It is a habeas corpus (petition)… we wish to see the kid. Produce the kid. The courtroom will take up the matter after a while…”
After a break of 45 minutes the boy appeared on a video hyperlink, at which era the courtroom went offline – aside from the hyperlink to the kid – to guard his identification.
Earlier this month Ms Singhania had instructed the courtroom the boy was a pupil of a boarding college in Haryana’s Faridabad, and that he can be withdrawn to accompany his mom to Bengaluru.
READ | Court’s “Stranger” Remark As Atul Subhash’s Mom Wants Grandson
“We are going to take the kid to Bengaluru… We’ve got taken the boy out of college. The mom should be in Bengaluru to satisfy bail situations,” her lawyer mentioned then, after which a bench of Justice Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh mentioned the kid needed to be produced earlier than it for the following listening to.
Ms Singhania and members of her household – her mom, Nisha; and brother, Anurag – face expenses of abetting the suicide of Atul Subhash, 34. Each had been arrested and later given bail.
READ | Atul Subhash’s Wife, In-Laws Get Bail In Suicide Abetment Case
After Ms Singhania’s arrest, Ms Devi approached the Supreme Court docket for custody of her grandson. Mr Subhash’s father, Pawan Kumar, additionally publicly demanded custody of the younger boy.
The petition claimed that neither Ms Singhania, nor her relations had disclosed the kid’s whereabouts. Ms Singhania had mentioned then the boy was together with her uncle, Sushil Singhania.
READ | Atul Subhash’s Mother Goes To Court For 4-Year-Old Grandson
Nevertheless, he later denied information of the kid’s location. The courtroom then directed the governments of three states – Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana – to supply readability on the state of affairs.
The courtroom then additionally famous the boy had spent barely any time along with his grandmother.
“Sorry to say the kid is a stranger to the petitioner,” Justice Nagarathna remarked, but additionally acknowledging the difficulty of custody would first must be heard by an applicable decrease courtroom.
Atul Subhash and Nikita Singhania had been wed in 2019. The son was born in 2020. In 2021, Ms Singhania left the couple’s Bengaluru residence after an altercation. In 2022, she filed a case in opposition to Mr Subhash and his relations.
After two years of bitter squabbles, Mr Subhash died by suicide at his Bengaluru flat on December 9.
In an 81-minute video and a 24-page suicide observe, he accused Ms Singhania and her household of submitting false instances in opposition to him and his dad and mom to extort Rs 3 crore.
READ | “I Started Saving For Your Car”: Atul Subhash’s Letter To Son, 4
He additionally alleged the justice system is biased to favour girls in such instances. The incident triggered outrage and debate on the misuse of legal guidelines created to guard girls from cruelty by husband or in-laws.
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