Suicide by married men: SC refuses to entertain PIL for setting up of 'National Commission for Men'
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking framing of guidelines to deal with incidents of suicide committed by married men subjected to domestic violence and the constitution of a "National Commission for Men" to safeguard their interests.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta expressed disinclination to consider the matter.
"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 top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Mahesh Kumar Tiwari, citing the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data 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.
"Around 33.2 per cent 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 said while referring to the NCRB data.
The petition had also sought directions to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to deal with the issue of suicide by married men and accept the complaints of men suffering domestic violence.
"Issue direction to the respondent no.1 (Union of India) to issue proper guidelines through the Ministry of Home Affairs to the police authority/station house officer of every police station to accept/receive the complaint of victims of domestic violence or those under stress due to family problems and marriage-related issues, and refer the same to the State Human Rights Commission for its proper disposal till the proper legislation is enacted by the Government of India," it said.
"Issue a direction/recommendation to the Law Commission of India to carry out research on the issue of suicides of married men who are suffering from domestic violence or under family problem and marriage-related issues and make necessary report in order to constitute a forum like National Commission for Men," the plea had said.
The petition was dismissed as withdrawn.
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SC to hear pleas for reviewing wages of priests, temple staff
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the wages and other benefits given to priests, 'sevadars' and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta is likely to hear the PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, seeks directions to the Centre and states to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the remuneration and other benefits given to the priests and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
"Petitioner also seeks a declaration that priests and temple staff are employee' under Section 2(k) of the Code on Wages, 2019. Petitioner submits that once the State assumes the administrative, economic and financial control over temples, an employer-employee relationship arises and denial of dignified wages to priests and temple staff violates the right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21," it said.
Upadhyay said the cause of action accrued on April 4, when he went to Varanasi to attend a public programme and after performing 'Rudrabhishek' in the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which is controlled by the state, he came to know that even the minimum wages to live with dignity are not given to the priests and temple staff.
"Recently, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, priests and temple staff organised a large-scale protest demanding the minimum wages. Priests and temple staff are not getting even the minimum wage prescribed by the State for unskilled and semi-skilled workers. This is a systemic exploitation. State is acting as a model employer through the endowments department, but violating the minimum wages Act and the directive principles of state policy (Article 43)," it said.
The plea further said the continued refusal to meet the minimum wages with the 2026 inflation-adjusted cost of living index has forced the petitioner to seek judicial intervention to prevent the further marginalisation of priests and temple staff.
Upadhyay further said the precarious nature of livelihood was starkly exposed on February 7, 2025, when a Tamil Nadu department issued a circular at the 'Dandayuthapani Swami Temple' in Madurai, strictly prohibiting priests from accepting 'dakshina' in 'aarti plates'.
"It is necessary to state that priests in such temples often receive no formal salary from the State and rely entirely on 'Dakshina'; the State's administrative order directly threatened them with starvation. Although withdrawn due to public outrage, the incident highlights the State's arbitrary power over the survival of the priests. This is also a bitter truth that States are controlling lakhs of temples but not a single mosque or church," the PIL claimed.
The petition, alternatively, sought direction to the Centre and states to take appropriate steps for the welfare of priests, sevadars and other temple staff in the spirit of the Allahabad High Court's earlier judgments.
