SC denies grandmother’s custody plea in Atul Subhash case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down the plea of mother of Atul Subhash, the Bengaluru-based techie who died by suicide alleging harassment by wife and her family, seeking custody of the couple’s minor son, as the court observed that she was a “stranger” to the child and it was open for her to apply for guardianship of the child through appropriate legal proceedings.

The top court was hearing a petition by Anju Devi, the mother of Atul. (File HT photo)

The top court was hearing a petition by Anju Devi, the mother of Atul.

Atul died by suicide in December after accusing Nikita and her family members of harassing him and his parents by filing false cases against them. Nikita, her mother Nisha, and her brother Anurag are facing an abetment to suicide case and are currently out on bail.

While the Karnataka police had arrested Nikita in a case of abetment to suicide, in which she is currently out on bail, Atul’s mother filed a habeas corpus petition in the top court seeking the whereabouts of her grandson, born in February 2020. She had named Nikita along with the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka as respondents in her petition.