A number of recent cases of suicide by men blaming their ex-spouses has swivelled the spotlight on India’s laws for divorce and false accusations ruining lives.

A 35-year-old man allegedly died by suicide at his house in Hyderabad due to “harassment" by his wife, a PTI report quoted the police as saying on Wednesday. The man's mother, in a complaint to police, accused her daughter-in-law of harassing her son regularly, following which he took the extreme step, they said.

A man from Kolkata has been embroiled in a similar prolonged legal battle for the past seven years following a brief marriage that ended in allegations of domestic violence and financial demands.

In a video statement, the man claimed that he met his now-estranged wife on a matrimonial site in 2017. But what began as a mutually committed relationship soon spiralled into turmoil. The man was forced to bring forward their wedding date because the woman said she was pregnant, which she wasn’t.

Their marriage only lasted three months before his wife left their marital home. Months later, in 2018, the man received a notice for a domestic violence case, followed by a maintenance claim.

Upon refusal to pay maintenance for such a short-lived marriage, he was sent to judicial custody. On October 18, 2023, the man was attacked at a court in Kolkata after informing the magistrate of his financial difficulties in meeting maintenance demands, the man said in the video.

He claimed that the incident escalated after speculating that the case was being used to pressure him into an out-of-court settlement. He also claimed that his father was also assaulted and sustained serious injuries.

“My faith in humanity and the judicial system was profoundly shaken when my father and I were viciously assaulted by a mob of lawyers within the courtroom,” the man said in the video. He claimed that his mother and sister were also harassed and falsely implicated.

“The humiliation which I had to face when I was taunted by lawyers, while inside the courtroom custody haunts me to this day. This betrayal by the system has made me question everything I once believed in,” the man told The Telegraph Online.

The man’s experience — The Telegraph Online is withholding his name because the case is sub-judice – is not an isolated one.

In Kolkata, 51-year-old Abhijit Pal was found hanging from the window grill of his apartment on March 17. A medical representative by profession, Pal was out of job for nearly three months, and his wife had abandoned him to return to her paternal home.

The police said: “It was reported that he was depressed. His mother found his room door open and saw him hanging from the grill of the window using a gamcha. No suicide note was found.”

Pal’s body was brought to MR Bangur Hospital after Garfa Police Station took charge of the case.

Techie dies by suicide

Manav Sharma, a techie from Agra, died by suicide on February 24, leaving behind a video message accusing his wife. In December last year, 34-year-old software engineer Atul Subhash died by suicide in Bangalore. His suicide was allegedly driven by financial and legal pressure from his ex-wife.

Recently, the Supreme Court dismissed a chargesheet against a retired Indian Army officer in an alleged rape case, stating that it was a misuse of the legal process. A bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice K. Vinod Chandran granted relief to retired Captain Rakesh Walia, who had some serious allegations levelled against him.

Walia’s Supreme Court petition exposed the complainant’s alleged involvement in a ‘sextortion’ racket.

“False allegations are a matter of worry which needs to be looked into by the Indian Judicial system, the top court and also the parliamentarians,” said advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, who represented Walia.

“Unless there is a proper system of checks and balances and a law that addresses malicious, wrongful, or biased prosecutions, whether initiated by the complainant and supported by the police, there will continue to be a gap in justice. If a case is later found to be vague, false, or incorrect, an equal penalty, punishment, or compensation should be imposed on those who misuse or abuse the legal process. This accountability is currently lacking," Dubey explained.

Another lawyer, Mrunalini Deshmukh, known for handling celebrity divorce cases, agreed that there have been instances where women have used divorce as a means to secure financial gain.

“Alimony is a right of the wife, but it is based on her ability or inability to sustain herself in terms of maintenance, residence, and other necessities. However, in some cases there have been instances where women have used divorce as a means to secure financial gain,” she said.

“While maintenance and alimony are legal entitlements, they must be assessed based on factors such as the number of years invested in the marriage, the presence of children or other dependents, and the woman’s ability to earn. Alimony claims should not be treated merely as a right but should be evaluated based on genuine needs,” she said.

Financial burden and the lack of support

The Kolkata man facing a “false” domestic violence case said: “I left my banking job to pursue filmmaking but my hopes have been completely dashed by the judicial system. The enormous legal expenses coupled with maintenance have drained us financially.”

Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, men’s rights activist and founder of Ekam Nyaay Foundation, said, men face multiple challenges when they are falsely accused in matrimonial disputes, whether alimony or domestic violence or maintenance.

“In many cases, men are perceived as the primary financial providers, expected to pay interim maintenance and legal costs, regardless of the circumstances. Family courts often operate under the assumption that the husband must bear the financial burden, reinforcing deeply ingrained stereotypes,” Bhardwaj said.

Need for reforms

Mrunalini Deshmukh said that one of the major reforms that has already been introduced in the legal system is the Supreme Court's ruling in Rajnesh vs. Neha where the courts have made it mandatory for the both parties to submit affidavits detailing their income and assets in all maintenance-related cases.

“This provides courts with a clearer picture of the financial standing of both the husband and the wife, ensuring fair decisions on alimony,” said Deshmukh.

“However, there are still loopholes that need to be addressed. We have observed false cases of domestic violence and cruelty under Section 498A of the IPC – which has been retained under BNS – where husbands and in-laws are wrongfully accused and pressured into financial settlements. This is an abuse of the law,” she said.

Deshmukh said that strict actions should be taken against those filing false cases and there should be legal consequences, such as financial penalties, for those who misuse the law.

“Currently, the Hindu Marriage Act sections dealing with maintenance – Section 24 for interim maintenance and Section 25 for permanent alimony – do not have clear statutory guidelines. The interpretation is largely left to judicial discretion. Fixed guidelines would help bring consistency to court decisions and prevent misuse of legal provisions,” she said.

Need for gender-neutral law

Atul Subhash’s tragic death also sparked conversation about India’s anti-dowry law which was introduced in 1983 to protect women from harassment and violence.

Even though dowry has been prohibited in India since 1961, the system is still prevalent in society on a large scale. According to the 2006 Rural Economic and Demographic Survey, 95 per cent of marriages in rural India between 1960 and 2008 involved dowry.

And according to the National Crime Records Bureau, 6,450 women were murdered over dowry in 2022.

Men's rights activists argue that with divorce cases on the rise, the law is being misused by women to harass their husbands and extort money from them, even forcing them to commit suicide.

According to the NCRB data, 83,713 married men died by suicide in 2022, nearly three times the 30,771 women who took their own lives during the same period.

Following the Atul Subhash case, the push for gender-neutral laws gained momentum with activists and legal experts calling for reforms to address false accusations and ensure equal protection for all genders under the law.

Advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey said, “Dowry death is an extreme situation, and we should not compare one set of offenses with another. We have to judge cases, based on the facts and the nature of the offence.”

Deshmukh harped on the need for gender neutrality in law: “While it is true that women face violence at a higher rate, justice should not be one-sided. Whoever files a complaint — whether it is a husband or a wife, a man or a woman in a live-in relationship — should have equal legal standing,” she said.

Gender neutrality reinforces the principle that both men and women can be held accountable for marital misconduct.

Adultery remains one of the primary causes of divorces.

“In the 2018 Joseph vs. Union of India case, the Supreme Court recognised the importance of women’s autonomy and the right to privacy. That’s why adultery was decriminalised, affirming an individual's right to make decisions about personal relationships,” Dubey said.

Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) made adultery a criminal offence and BNS retains clause 84 of this law. Dubey said that the intention behind making gender-neutral laws is to ensure justice rather than allow wrongful implications in false cases.

Activist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj said: “The system needs to revamp itself to address the growing menace of false accusations. This is not just my perspective, the Supreme Court and high courts have acknowledged the misuse of certain laws. Without intervention, countless lives will be destroyed, and public faith in the justice system will be completely eroded.

“Many men have already lost faith in the system, leading to an alarming rise in suicides,” she said. “Women have long suffered horrific abuse and crimes, often living in fear. However, instead of addressing those injustices, we have inadvertently created a parallel fear, one where men now live under constant threat of false accusations that can ruin their lives.

“Both issues are deeply troubling and must be addressed with equal urgency,” she added.

With inputs from Debrup Chaudhuri