The Supreme Court has ruled that custody of the four-year-old son of Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash, who died by suicide in December, and his estranged wife, Nikita Singhania, accused by him of harassment leading to his death, will remain with his mother.

A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice SC Sharma delivered the judgment on Monday evening while hearing a plea by Anju Devi, Mr. Subhash's mother, seeking custody of her grandson. The decision was made after the judges interacted with the child through a video link.

During the hearing, the petitioner requested an additional week to submit a detailed affidavit. However, Justice Nagarathna declined the request, emphasizing the urgency of the matter, stating, "This is a habeas corpus petition. We want to see the child. Produce the child. The court will take up the matter after some time."

After a break of 45 minutes, the boy appeared on a video link, at which time the court went offline - except for the link to the child - to protect his identity.

Earlier this month, Nikita Singhania informed the Supreme Court that her four-year-old son, currently enrolled in a boarding school in Faridabad, Haryana, would be withdrawn from the institution to accompany her to Bengaluru.

"We will take the child to Bengaluru... We have taken the boy out of school. The mother must be in Bengaluru to fulfill bail conditions," her lawyer said then, after which a bench of Justice Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh said the child had to be produced before it for the next hearing.

Nikita Singhania, along with her family members—her mother, Nisha, and brother, Anurag—faces charges of abetting the suicide of Atul Subhash, 34. Both Nisha and Anurag were arrested in connection with the case but were later granted bail.

Following Nikita Singhania's arrest, Anju Devi, Atul Subhash's mother, approached the Supreme Court seeking custody of her grandson. Pawan Kumar, Subhash's father, also publicly demanded custody of the child.

The petition raised concerns that neither Ms. Singhania nor her family members had disclosed the child's whereabouts. At that time, Ms. Singhania stated that the boy was staying with her uncle, Sushil Singhania.

However, Sushil Singhania later denied knowing the whereabouts of the child. In response, the court directed the governments of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana to clarify the situation.

The court also noted that the boy had spent very little time with his grandmother, Anju Devi.

"Sorry to say the child is a stranger to the petitioner," Justice Nagarathna remarked, but also acknowledging the issue of custody would first have to be heard by an appropriate lower court.

Atul Subhash and Nikita Singhania were married in 2019, and their son was born in 2020. In 2021, Ms. Singhania left the couple's Bengaluru home following an altercation. The following year, she filed a case against Mr. Subhash and his family members.

After two years of intense disputes, Mr. Subhash died by suicide at his Bengaluru flat on December 9. In an 81-minute video and a 24-page suicide note, he accused Ms. Singhania and her family of filing false cases against him and his parents in an attempt to extort Rs 3 crore.