The Supreme Court of India declined a Public Interest Litigation for the creation of a National Commission for Men, aimed at addressing suicides among married men. The court expressed disinclination, stating the petition portrayed a one-sided picture. The petition was subsequently dismissed.
The Supreme Court of India has refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation for the creation of a National Commission for Men seeking framing of guidelines to deal with the incidents of suicides among married men.
Mahesh Tiwari v. Union of India
The Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Dipankat Datta expressed their disinclination on the matter as the petition portrayed a one-sided picture.
“You just want to portray a one-sided picture. Can you give us the data of young girls dying soon after marriage?… Nobody wants to commit suicide, it depends on the facts of an individual case,” the bench observed.
The petition was filed by advocate Mahesh Kumar Tiwari, he cited the data published by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) published in 2021 on accidental deaths in India, which said 1,64,033 people died by suicide across the country that year. Of them, 81,063 were married men, while 28,680 were married women, the petition said. Moreover, the petition added that around 33.2 percent of men ended their lives because of family problems and 4.8 percent due to marriage-related issues in the year 2021. This year, a total of 1,18,979 men committed suicide, which is about 72 percent, and a total of 45,026 women committed suicide, which is about 27 percent.
The Petitioner prayed for the Central Government to create a National Commission for Men in this regard and sought directions to the National Human Rights Commission to look into the matters of suicides and domestic violence against married men. Also, the Law Commission of India should study the issue and prepare a report for the creation of the said Commission.
However, the petition was dismissed.
