SC refuses to entertain PIL seeking a National Commission for Men

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a PIL seeking the constitution of a National Commission for Men and for framing guidelines on the issue of suicides by married men under domestic violence.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta refused to consider the plea, saying that the petition portrayed a one-sided picture.

“You just want to portray a one-sided picture. Can you give us data of young girls dying soon after marriage?" the court said.

While dismissing the PIL as withdrawn, the bench orally observed that the existing criminal law takes care of such grievances in suicide cases and people were not without any remedy.

In his petition, advocate Mahesh Kumar Tiwari relied on the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data to claim that a large number of men ended their lives under family problems and marriage-related issues.

“Around 33.2 per cent of men ended their lives because of family problems and 4.8 per cent due to marriage-related issues in the year 2021. In this year, total 1,18,979 men committed suicide, which are about 72 per cent, and total 45,026 women committed suicide, which are about 27 per cent," the plea stated.

It sought direction to the National Human Rights Commission to accept the complaints of men suffering domestic violence and consider the issue of suicide among married men.

Also, it was prayed that a direction be issued to the Law Commission of India to carry out research and prepare a report on the issue. Every police station should accept the complaint of victims of domestic violence and refer the same to the state Human Rights Commission till a law is enacted by the Central government, the plea stated.