Bengaluru: A Bengaluru court has granted bail to estranged wife and in-laws of automobile firm executive Atul Subhash, who committed suicide here last month, citing troubled marriage and accusing his spouse of harassment.
The family of Atul Subhash has stated that after obtaining of the order sheet, they would appeal over the decision to grant in the High Court of Karnataka.
The bail has been granted to Atul’s wife Nikita Singhania, her mother Nisha Singhania and brother-in-law Anurag Singhania.
They would be released from the Bengaluru Central Prison in a day or two after the completion of formalities.
Vinay Singh, counsel representing the family of Atul Subhash, said: “We have to receive the complete order copy to comment. We got the verdict from the court that the bail petition has been allowed. It means that the accused are going to be released on bail. Once the order sheet is received, we will study it and if there is scope based on the grounds on which the bail is provided, we will approach the higher court.
“Basic arguments were placed on the technical grounds, grounds of arrest, fundamental rights of petitioner. This was plain bail application and there was no discussion about the custody of the child.”
Counsel Ponnanna, also representing Atul Subhash’s family, said: “The argument given in this case was simple. The opposite side claimed there was no instigation or provocation from their side. Our contention was that there was a 24-page of suicidal note and also a video of more than an hour has come out. Our appeal was that this video should be given importance and investigation has to be done.”
Atul Subhash committed suicide alleging his wife demanded Rs 3 crore for divorce settlement.
The police registered an FIR against the accused persons under Sections 108, 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) on December 9.
Bikas Kumar (Atul’s brother) had lodged a police complaint alleging abetment to suicide with the Marathahalli police in Bengaluru.
Bikas Kumar alleged in the complaint that false cases were lodged against his brother (Atul) by the accused, demanding Rs 3 crore to settle the case. He had also alleged that his brother was taunted in the court during the proceedings that he had to either give Rs 3 crore or commit suicide.
Nikita’s family had alleged that the deceased Subhash demanded a hefty dowry from her family which resulted in the death of her father.
Pavan Kumar Modi, Atul’s father, had stated that the family is worried about the safety of his son’s child.
“If the court grants bail to Atul’s wife, she can attack the child and endanger his life. If she can drive my son to commit suicide, she can also do the same to the kid as well,” he said.
“My grandson was ATM to her. She got money on the pretext of taking care of him. She approached the High Court demanding Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000. She went on to appeal for Rs 80,000. Even after this, she went on demanding more money. Hence, we have approached the Supreme Court for the custody of the child as he is safe with us,” he had stated.
