Another Atul Subhash In Making, Till When India Will Loose Their Sons In The Name Of Women Empowerment?

Are Marriages Becoming The Legal Suicide Note That Indian Men Never Knew They Are Signing? A Nation Unraveling: The Coming Crisis of Biased Domestic Violence Laws Against Indian Men

Have you seen the movie ‘Mrs.’? The probable chances are yes, and if not, let us tell you, that the movie revolves around the ‘challenges and difficulties, or most exclusivley, the tortures faced by women in relationships. As soon as the movie hit the screens, people went to social media to vent their anger on a male dominated society and how women have been tortured since ages.

Now reverse the situation. Imagine a man being brutally tortured by his wife and in-laws and has pushed to such an extent that he decided to end his life; probably because he knews that the Indian laws are only for women and nobody will listen his agony as ‘mard ko dard nahi hota’. Oh, you don’t have to imagine this, as this is now a reality, why? Recall Late Atul Subhash and his horror!

Where are we heading?

The socio-legal texture of any society is a fine balance, sustained by the subtle interplay of protection, obligations, and rights. Where the balance tilts too much in one direction, the effects are not just felt through the lives of citizens, but through the very texture of the society. This is the case with India’s domestic violence laws.

While these laws were initially intended as a much-needed protection of vulnerable citizens—most notably women—against violence, brutality, their selective enforcement and unilateralism have revealed a ghastly truth: Indian men are increasingly exposed to a legal system that far too often turns a blind eye to their pain. Unless the balance is restored, we risk constructing a society in which justice is an illusion, and men are systematically excluded in the name of protecting women.

Let’s Start The Discussion With An Assumption-Based System of Law Rather Than Justice

India’s domestic violence legislation, specifically the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) and frequently summoned Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, were written with the best of motives. They were meant to enable women to complain of abuse in a society where they had been disadvantaged for centuries.

These laws, however, over time, were blunt instruments. They were used with scant regard to context, with scant regard to subtlety. The one-way emphasis on the protection of women—while justified in real cases of violence—has created a situation where men are increasingly outside the umbrella of protection. This exclusion has made the legal system a source of vulnerability for those very people it is also meant to protect. 

The chilling case of Late Atul Subhash, just a few months back, is a deadly mirror of the systemic failures of India’s existing laws. Subhash’s case is not an isolated one but a microcosm of a broader trend: men accused on domestic tortures, subjected to long and arduous legal proceedings, and left to rebuild the pieces of lives forever changed.

It’s not only an emotional loss, but en economic one as well.

Indian men are the prime movers in the Indian economic system. They pay taxes, support families, and drive industries.

But the current legal system in place penalizes them twice over.

1. They pay their civic price first by paying into the state exchequer.
2. They are then often burdened with huge alimonies and monetary payouts in cases where charges may later be found to be unfounded.

The double financial cost is then followed by the psychological price of having to navigate an unequal legal system, with many men developing depression, anxiety, and in some tragic cases, even suicidal tendencies.

The case of Manav Sharma, a TCS employee, tragically makes the point. In a tearful video made before his untimely death, Sharma narrated the constant harassment he had endured, which he claimed pushed him to the brink. His moving plea—”Please think about men. They are lonely“—is the cry of many men who lack a support group or recourse. Sharma’s case is not a personal tragedy; it is a searing indictment of a legal system that is callous to the humanity and vulnerabilities of half the population.

Why The Indian Judiciary Cannot See The Legal Blind Spot Where Men Are Victims?

The dominant discourse of domestic violence law is one that always presumes men to be perpetrators and women to be victims. It is a black-and-white world that does not take into consideration the complexity of human relationships and the fact that abuse can—and does—travel in both directions. In leaving men unprotected by the law, the system in effect sanctions their suffering, leaving them with nothing to do but silently weep.

Thus, all over the world, progressive societies are coming to realize that we need gender-neutral domestic violence legislation. In the UK and Australia, their protections cover all, irrespective of gender. Such thinking not only makes it more just but also helps to destroy those repugnant stereotypes which help to continue the cycle of abuse. But India is stuck in a legal system that only sees men as the only perpetrators, totally overlooking the suffering of those who are quietly enduring. It seems that Indian legal system still works in favor of ‘Abla Naari’ but it couldn’t see that ‘Nari is not abla anymore’…

The inconsistency in domestic violence law not only harms individual men—it tears apart the social fabric of Indian society. When half the population is disenfranchised by the legal system, the social glue that holds society together starts to unravel. Children who are raised in homes tainted by baseless allegations or acrimonious legal fights learn the dysfunction and carry it on to future generations in the form of cycles of distrust and resentment. The workplace is also harmed as skilled people quit jobs or lose productivity from the emotional costs of lengthy legal fights.

You know what’s kind of terrifying? The direction things are going might actually create a cultural backlash. When men feel like they’re being taken advantage of in an unfair system, they might not be ready to support things that actually make gender equality work. This dichotomy isn’t good for anybody, especially women who need the legal system to have their backs. A culture that pits men and women against each other is just begging for trouble.

Is there any path ahead from the dark tunnel?

We are not saying that the society is very rewarding for women. Taking the example as given in the start of the article, the movie like ‘Mrs.’ are a reality and definitely, we need laws to safeguard our women. But we also need to understand that ‘we need to save men as well’.

The solution is not to disassemble the protection for women, but to expand the legal framework to include and deal with the vulnerabilities of all. This means making gender-neutral domestic violence laws that are interested in the nature of abuse and not the gender of the parties. It means instituting protection against abuse, including punishment for proven false charges and provision for prompt redressal of grievances.

Also, a cultural change has to be brought about in society’s perception of male victims of domestic violence. Public awareness campaigns, education, and community support programs can all contribute to the removal of stigma that discourages men from reporting it. By creating a society where all survivors, male and female, are empowered to report it, India can start to restore the lost trust for decades of imbalance.

At the end, how are we standing at a crossroads?

India’s at a pretty critical point today. The way domestic violence law is framed, while well-meaning, is making life tougher for men—financially, emotionally, and socially. Unless we reform these laws, we risk becoming a society that’s extremely tough on men, but claiming to do it all in the name of saving women.

We just need to move past those old stereotypes and to a fair, balanced legal system. If we don’t address these deep-seated issues, India just won’t be able to provide justice for everyone. The road to balance is difficult, but it’s a road we must take—before our society is irreparably rent asunder.