Atul Subhash Case : Supreme Court Disposes Of Habeas Corpus Petition Filed By Mother Of Subhash To Know Whereabouts Of Child

The Supreme Court today (January 20) disposed of a habeas corpus petition filed by Anju Devi, mother of Karnataka-based techie Atul Subhash, to know about the whereabouts of her grandson. 

A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma heard the matter in in-camera proceedings to maintain the privacy of the child. After the Court interacted with the child, it disposed of the petition with the liberty to the petitioner to approach the appropriate Court in case of child custody.

Subhash died by suicide on December 9, 2024. The 34-year-old techie left behind a 'justice is due' placard and a 24-page suicide note. He made allegations of harassment against the estranged wife (Nikita Singhania) and in-laws, during an ongoing legal battle over divorce, alimony, and child custody in a family court in UP's Jaunpur district.

After this, a complaint was filed against the wife for allegedly abetting the suicide of her husband Subhash.

On December 20, 2024, the Court issued notice to the States of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and directed them to ascertain the whereabouts of the child. 

After this, the Court was informed that the child was studying in a boarding school and that the mother had taken custody of the child on January 7.

It is so because she was granted bail and as per the bail condition, she has to appear before the concerned police station every Saturday morning in Bangalore. In such circumstances, it was allowed for the mother to take the child to Bangalore. 

Today, at the outset, when the matter was taken up, Justice Nagarathna inquired why the child had not been produced through video conferencing. Advocate Vardhman Kaushik, for the wife, stated that the Court's order was not clear whether the child needed to be produced. Within half an hour, the child appeared through VC in in-camera proceedings after which the Court passed the order. 

Case Details: ANJU DEVI v THE STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ORS., Diary No. 59653-2024

Appearances: Advocate Vardhman Kaushik and Dhruv Joshi (for wife) 

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