Abstract

Violation of socio-legal promises was introduced as a significant factor affecting male suicide, as the abated suicide rates, which were higher for men than women, never went down across the world and persisted. Men die by suicide 3–4 times more than women (World Health Organization; WHO, 2023), and recently released National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB, 2023) data also show that more than 70% of all suicides in India are made by men, especially in the age category of 30–50 years. A study linking the criminalization and societal derision of men to escalating suicide figures — particularly about family relations, fictitious criminal allegations, workplace pressure, and social marginalization. Thus, judicial notice regarding Friday’s abuse of Sec 84a and its mental ramifications on men have been witnessed in many sycophantic gleanings of “Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014)” and “Rajesh Sharma v. State of UP (2017)”. In addition, by utilizing survey-based reports from mental health organizations, the study indicates that financial stress, loss of custody of their children, and fear of wrongful allegations are profound contributors to male distress. The study calls for a gender-neutral law, male-focused mental health services, and protection from false allegations by the courts. However, even with this growing awareness, policy change has never been sufficient, and population-level longitudinal data on the why of male suicide remains limited. Therefore, male suicide will be prevented only when this holistic approach includes legal justice, mental health assistance, and a greater awareness in society. It ends with a call to address male suicides as a human rights issue, requiring legal, institutional, and social reforms to avoid losing more lives.

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