The Hidden Cost Of India’s Justice Delays: How Bengaluru Suicide Hints To A Harsh Reality | India News

Bengaluru woke up to another unsettling headline this week after a young software engineer was found dead in his apartment in the city’s eastern tech belt. Police say he left behind a detailed note describing months of pressure, financial strain and emotional exhaustion that had slowly built into something he could no longer manage. Neighbours reported that he had been withdrawn for weeks, stepping out only for essentials. Friends told investigators that work deadlines had grown unpredictable, and he had spoken of feeling constantly watched and judged.

The incident isn’t isolated. According to early 2025 data from the National Crime Records Bureau, cases of self-harm among tech professionals in Karnataka have risen by nearly 23% in the last two years.

What Triggered Fresh Outrage in Bengaluru?

A 45-year-old software engineer from Bengaluru died by suicide at his under-construction home in the Whitefield Police limits on Wednesday. Police said Murali Govindaraju was discovered hanging from an iron hook on the second floor early in the morning. Officers also recovered what appears to be a death note from the spot.

Early reports suggest he took his own life after leaving a detailed death note alleging harassment and extortion by neighbouring property owners.

Murali had purchased a plot in 2018 from sellers linked to a neighbouring family, Usha and Shashi Nambiar. According to complaints filed by his mother, the Nambiars approached him repeatedly over the past month, demanding ₹20 lakh without any clear reason. Tragically, Murali’s life ended before these issues could be resolved, with a carpenter discovering his body at 9:30 a.m.

His handwritten note details how a dream home slowly turned into a space of fear, emotional exhaustion and unending pressure. What stands out is not just the personal struggle, but the familiar pattern it shares with earlier cases involving software workers who felt cornered by circumstances they couldn’t escape.

The case immediately raises urgent questions- how quickly can the culprits be brought to justice? And can the system learn from past delays, or will this case face the same drawn-out path seen in earlier high-profile tech suicides?

The recent case brings echoes of Atul Subhash’s story from December 2024. Like Murali, Atul, a software professional, left behind detailed evidence, a 24-page note and a 90-minute video alleging harassment and extortion by his estranged wife and in-laws.

Atul’s case, despite its prominence, suffered from extreme procedural delays- though arrests were made quickly, the FIR filed, and the case documented comprehensively, and despite national attention, the formal chargesheet was filed only on 6 November 2025 nearly 11 months after the incident. The court has now fixed its first hearing for today, 5 December 2025, almost a full year after Atul’s death.

Atul died by suicide on 9 December 2024, and what he left behind was unlike anything investigators in Bengaluru had seen in recent memory. He detailed what he described as harassment, pressure and financial extortion, naming each person he believed had contributed to his distress.

The question that comes up is that if a case in the national spotlight takes a year to reach court, what does the path for the problems of an average citizen look like amidst the slow serving justice system of India.

Why Are Police and Courts Struggling with Systemic Delays?

Legal experts argue that the Atul case highlights a structural problem. Judicial backlog, slow forensic processing, and understaffed investigative teams create unavoidable congestion. A Delhi-based advocate summed it up online: people ask why their cases take so long, but they forget that behind each file is a person whose life remains suspended until justice moves.

When cases drag for months or years, it affects everyone—victims, accused, and families watching their lives crumble as they wait. According to the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), as of mid‑2025 there were about 5.29 crore (≈ 52.9 million) pending cases across India’s courts: roughly 4.65 crore in district and subordinate courts, 63.3 lakh in High Courts, and about 86,700 in the Supreme Court of India.

For civil cases at district level courts, only about 38.7% are disposed of within one year, while nearly 20% remain unresolved even after five years, highlighting slow case resolution across large sections of the justice system.

Police and courts are struggling with systemic delays because the entire criminal justice chain is burdened at every level, and each slowdown compounds the next. The problem isn’t caused by one department or one failure. It is a mix of shortages, outdated procedures, and the sheer volume of cases that India’s legal system must handle every single day.

Here’s the expanded and clearer picture:

1. Police forces are understaffed and overworked

Most police stations operate with far fewer officers than sanctioned. One officer often handles several investigations at once, along with daily law-and-order duties, VIP movement, paperwork, and court appearances. When investigators juggle too much, even high-profile cases move slowly.

2. Investigations still rely heavily on manual processes

India has digital crime records and online complaint systems, but ground-level work remains deeply manual. Officers must collect statements, visit locations, organise documents, respond to summons and coordinate with multiple agencies. Any delay at one step pushes everything else back.

3. Lack of forensic capacity creates massive bottlenecks

Forensic labs across the country are overloaded. Even in major states, a simple report can take weeks or months. Without forensic confirmation, police cannot complete a charge sheet, so cases get stuck in limbo.

4. Prosecutors and police are often not on the same page

Ideally, investigations should be carried out in sync with public prosecutors. In reality, this often doesn’t happen. Gaps in communication lead to incomplete files, errors, or missing documents — all of which can delay a charge sheet or force the court to send it back.

5. Courts face overwhelming case backlogs

Crores of cases are pending across Indian courts. Judges handle long daily lists, often moving from one matter to another in minutes. Even scheduling a first hearing can take months. When a fresh case enters this clogged system, it simply waits its turn.

6. Frequent adjournments slow cases further

Lawyers ask for time. Witnesses don’t turn up. Documents aren’t ready. Police officers fail to appear. Each adjournment pushes the case weeks into the future, creating a domino effect that can stretch the matter for years.

7. Lack of accountability at every stage

Delays often happen without consequence. There are no strict penalties for late charge sheets, missing documents, or repeated adjournments. When no one is held responsible, delays become normalised.

8. Emotional and social complexities also slow down sensitive cases

Cases involving harassment, marital disputes, dowry allegations or mental health distress often require multiple statements, additional counselling reports and more time to verify claims. These added layers of scrutiny, while necessary, can also drag the timeline.

9. Technology has not fully replaced outdated systems

Digital case files, e-courts and online tracking exist, but not uniformly. Many police stations still rely on physical files. Many courts still depend on manual records. This mismatch leads to errors, duplication, and delays.

10. High-profile cases don’t always move faster

The assumption is that cases with media attention speed through the system. Atul’s case and the recent Bengaluru techie case prove the opposite. Even with public scrutiny, cases crawl, showing how deeply rooted the problem is.

Cases like those of Murali Govindaraju and Atul Subhash aren’t outliers; they fall into the larger pattern of victims and accused caught in a justice system gridlocked by backlog.

What Does Prolonged Litigation Do To A Person’s Mental Health?

The mental load of long-running legal battles is often underestimated. Individuals describe the experience as moving through life with a weight strapped to their chest unable to pause, unable to proceed.

When cases drag on:

• sleep gets disrupted

• work performance declines

• social relationships suffer

• families fracture under pressure

The absence of closure becomes its own kind of punishment. Many feel they are living inside their case rather than living their life. In Atul’s case, the emotional and legal burden was twofold. He was simultaneously the complainant and the accused, a situation many mental health experts say can significantly heighten distress. Defending oneself while also alleging harm creates a loop of conflict, fear and emotional exhaustion.

Why Bengaluru Techie Suicide Is a Reminder For The Judicial System?

The cases of Murali Govindaraju and Atul Subhash are more than isolated tragedies—they are a lens into the systemic gaps of India’s justice system. By examining these incidents, we confront how slow investigations, delayed charge sheets, and prolonged court proceedings compound the suffering of victims and their families. These discussions also shine a light on the mental health pressures faced by professionals, reminding society that behind every case is a human life, a story, and a family waiting for answers.

Most importantly, keeping these conversations alive fosters accountability, encourages reforms, and strengthens the push for a judicial system that delivers justice swiftly, transparently, and compassionately.

The tragic death of Murali Govindaraju, a software engineer in Bengaluru, has reopened questions about how efficiently India’s justice system handles high-profile cases. Police registered a complaint immediately, but as in Atul Subhash’s case, the question looms, will the investigation and court proceedings move swiftly, or will the case be caught in the same slow-moving machinery that kept Atul’s case pending for nearly a year before the first hearing?