The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking the setting up of a “National Commission for Men” to safeguard their interests and framing of guidelines to deal with incidents of suicide committed by married men subjected to domestic violence.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta expressed disinclination to entertain the matter, saying that the petitioner was only trying to portray a “one-sided picture”. The petitioner, advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, had argued that there had been a “sharp increase” in the number of suicides committed by married men in recent years, and that this was due to the increasing number of cases of domestic violence against men.
He had also argued that there was no “national-level body” to address the grievances of men, and that a “National Commission for Men” was needed to fill this gap. However, the bench said that the petitioner was only focusing on the suicides committed by married men, and was ignoring the fact that women also faced domestic violence. “You just want to portray a one-sided picture. Can you give us the data of young girls dying soon after marriage?” the bench asked.
The bench also said that there were already existing laws and mechanisms in place to deal with domestic violence, and that there was no need for a separate “National Commission for Men”. “Nobody wants to commit suicide, it depends on the facts of an individual case,” the bench said. The bench then dismissed the PIL , saying that it was not maintainable. The dismissal of the PIL has been met with mixed reactions. Some people have welcomed the decision, saying that it was unnecessary to set up a separate “National Commission for Men”. Others have criticised the decision, saying that it ignores the plight of men who face domestic violence.
It remains to be seen whether the issue of domestic violence against men will be taken up by the government or the courts in the future.
[1] LIVE LAW https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-dismisses-pil-seeking-national-commission-for-men-to-deal-with-increasing-suicide-rate-among-married-men-231743 (LAST VISITED 4TH JULY , 2023 )
WRITTEN BY – ADITYA SINGH, COLLEGE NAME – SHRI RAMSWAROOP MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY, SEMESTER – 6th , an intern under LEGALVIDHIYA
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