Atul Subhash Suicide: Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury's old video wherein she was asked about harassment faced by men due to misuse of dowry laws has gone viral on X. Chowdhury, who was the Women and Child Development Minister in the UPA government in 2006, was asked about criticism faced by the domestic violence law. She had dismissed the idea that there might be large-scale misuse of the Act, saying that the percentage is likely to be minuscule.
"When we bring out an act we help to set a direction for a certain societally accepted behaviour. Those are the broader parameters. Because of a minute percentage of people who misappropriate an act are you saying I should not bring an act? I should be in denial that women are not domestically harassed, that they are not killed, removed from their homes, denied access to their children, to their own earnings and that they have no recourse to law," she had said.
She was asked if men should suffer before the act undergoes changes, to which she replied, "That's not a bad idea except I have pitty for men...Any law is better than no law at all when protecting women is concerned," she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The video is widely shared on social media as a 34-year-old AI engineer, Atul Subhash, died by suicide alleging harassment by his wife Nikita Singhania. The man in a 24-page note alleged that she was asking him for maintenance of Rs 2 to 4 lakh and using their four-year-old son in a family court. The man also questioned the judicial system in India and tagged US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a 90-minute video message.
When the MP was asked about the case outside Parliament now, she termed the incident "very unfortunate". "Such incidents should never happen in the country. If the common man has no hope that he will have justice from anywhere, then it is very harmful to society. Implementing agencies should take strict action. The court should take suo moto cognizance," Chowdhury said.