Bengaluru IT Engineer Suicide Case

In February 2025, 34-year-old Bengaluru IT engineer Manoj Kumar was found dead in his apartment. He left a detailed suicide note and video accusing his wife Haritha and her mother of relentless mental and physical harassment. They allegedly demanded large sums of money and threatened to implicate him in false dowry harassment cases under Section 498A, pushing him into depression. Kumar’s family stated that prolonged legal extortion and psychological torture drove him to suicide. Police registered a case of abetment to suicide and under the Dowry Prohibition Act, promptly arresting the wife and mother-in-law. The incident echoed the high-profile Atul Subhash case, sparking nationwide outrage over the misuse of gender-specific laws and the mental health crisis among married men facing fabricated litigation.

The wife and mother-in-law were arrested and charged with abetment to suicide and offenses under the Dowry Prohibition Act. The case is under investigation, and no final trial verdict has been delivered as of mid-2026.

Whether the suicide note and video constitute conclusive evidence of abetment to suicide, and whether the legal provisions under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code are being systematically misused to file false cases and harass husbands, highlighting the lack of gender-neutral domestic violence laws.

The case intensified protests by men’s rights organizations across India, demanding gender-neutral family laws, mandatory verification of dowry complaints before arrests, and stricter punishment for fabricating cases. It triggered renewed debates in Parliament and social media, highlighting the psychological toll of legal misuse on individuals and families.