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The lawyer of Atul Subhash, a 34-year-old software engineer who died by suicide at his Bengaluru residence, claimed that he did not seem depressed when he last met him in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur for a hearing in a case filed by his wife. He alleged that Atul Subhash did not approach the High Court to challenge the order to pay Rs 40,000 per month in maintenance for the minor son.
Atul Subhash, who was found hanging at his Bengaluru home on Monday, left behind a 24-page suicide note and a 90-minute video detailing allegations of harassment and extortion against his wife and her family. A placard reading ‘Justice is Due’ was found at his house.
Speaking to India Today TV, lawyer Dinesh Mishra said a Jaunpur court had ordered him to pay Rs 40,000 per month in maintenance for the minor son. He claimed that Atul Subhash had told him that he would welcome any decision from the court. He also said that Atul did not speak to him after the court’s decision in July and asserted that there is a possibility that the maintenance amount was “too much” for him.
“Last time, he came here in June. The court gave its decision on July 29 ordering him to pay Rs 40,000 maintenance. Whenever we spoke, he did not appear to be depressed and said he would welcome any court order. We did not talk after the court’s decision in July. My junior, Shailesh Sharma, had sent a copy of the judgement to him,” he said.
“As far as the judgement on maintenance is concerned, its revision can be done by approaching the High Court. But Atul did not take any such legal advice from us. The judgement was absolutely correct. It is only possible that he felt that Rs 40,000 as maintenance was too much. But a petition could have been filed in the High Court to get it revised,” he said.
Atul Subhash claimed that his wife had filed multiple false cases against him and demanded Rs 2 lakh per month in maintenance for herself and their four-year-old son.
On Atul Subhash’s allegations of harassment due to frequent travel to UP for court trials, Mishra said, “This is a judicial process and judges are also bound by it. If he has written all such things in the suicide note, then it is a matter of investigation. But according to what we have seen, there was no problem with him in the court. If there is any order of the High Court regarding the court date, then it has to be followed. He did not have any problem in coming on the dates at that time.”
Asked whether there was a provision for appearing on the date through video conferencing, the lawyer said Jaunpur district was not very prosperous and asserted that it was difficult to hold virtual hearings in regular cases.
“This happens only to a few people. The police should investigate the case filed by his brother now and take action as per the rules. His family members have not talked to us about this matter yet. If the police investigate, we will definitely find the facts,” he said.
Atul Subhash’s brother, Bikas Modi, filed a police complaint, alleging that his sister-in-law and her family had “fabricated false cases” and demanded a settlement of Rs 3 crore for these cases.
“For people working in Bengaluru, it’s not possible to always commute to Uttar Pradesh for a case. But he was being harassed constantly,” Modi explained, adding, “My brother gave his life while he was fighting against the system.”
(with inputs from Aditya Prakash)
