Atul Subhash suicide row: Victim’s mother moves Supreme Court, seeks custody of her 4-year-old grandson

Weeks after Bengaluru engineer Atul Subhash committed suicide alleging harassment and false accusations from his wife and in-laws, his mother on 20 December approached the Supreme Court seeking custody of her four-year-old grandson, reported NDTV.

To secure her grandson’s custody, whose whereabouts are to be known, Anju Modi has filed a habeas corpus petition with the apex court.

In her petition, she mentioned that neither his daughter-in-law, Nikita Singhania, nor her family members disclosed the child’s whereabouts.

Earlier, Nikita had told the police that her son was enrolled in a Faridabad boarding school and under her uncle Sushil Singhania’s custody. However, Sushil denied of having any knowledge of the child’s location.

What did the Supreme Court say?

Hearing the petition of Anju Modi, a Supreme Court bench – comprised of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh – issued notices to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Karnataka to clarify the situation. They also scheduled the next hearing date as 7 January.

On 9 December, after Atul Subhash’s suicide, several arrests were made including his wife Nikita Singhania, along with her mother Nisha Singhania and brother Anurag Singhania. All three were arrested on 16 December.

Citing evidence from the suicide note and video left by Subhash, the Karnataka Police charged the three with abetment of suicide.

What Anju Modi’s petition say?

Apart from the grandchild’s custody, Subhash’s kin alleged that Nikita and her family harassed him with false legal cases and demands for money.

The victim’s father Pawan Kumar,and brother, Bikas Kumar, have even vowed that they will not immerse Subhash’s ashes until justice is served.

“The others behind this incident should also be arrested. We will not get justice till all false cases registered against us are withdrawn. We will not immerse the ashes of my brother till we get justice. Our fight will continue,” NDTV quoted Bikas Kumar as saying.

Expressed concerns about the child’s safety, the Bikas added, “I am equally concerned about my nephew (son of Subhash). His safety is a matter of serious concern for us. We have not seen him in recent photographs. I want to know his whereabouts through the media. We want his custody as early as possible.”

Meanwhile, Nikita’s kin are trying to get their wards out of jail. Their counsel, Manish Tiwary, argued for anticipatory bail for Nikita’s uncle, Sushil Singhania, citing his advanced age (69) and chronic health conditions.

Later, Justice Ashutosh Srivastava granted Sushil pre-arrest bail but with strict conditions, saying he needed to furnish a personal bond of ₹50,000, be available for police interrogation, and surrender his passport.