National Men's Commission (Img: AI generated)
New Delhi: The murder of Pune-based businessman Ketan Agarwal by his fiancee and her alleged lover has renewed the debate over whether India should have a National Commission for Men (NCM).
The case has prompted widespread discussion on social media and within men’s rights groups, with some saying male victims have no specific institutional mechanism for redress. But the debate is not solely about one case, it raises bigger questions about India’s legal and institutional framework.
Those in favour say that there are many statutory agencies in India to protect the rights of vulnerable sections of society, such as the National Commission for Women (NCW) but none for men.
"As much as we say that India does need strong institutions to protect women, we cannot ignore the fact that there are several men who face domestic abuse, mental health issues, custody disputes, fake cases and more. A special forum for men too could be of a great help in examining such issues and making sure that men's concerns and legitimate complaints are not overlooked", said Ankush Verma, a MNC professional to Dynamite News.
In recent years, politicians have taken notice of the demand. In 2025, Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal had introduced a Member’s Bill to set up a National Commission for Men.
The proposed legislation seeks to establish a statutory body to safeguard men's rights, address grievances like domestic abuse, and recommend reforms for a more gender-balanced legal system. However the bill is yet to become a law.
"A commission could examine men’s complaints, study issues such as mental health, domestic violence against men, child custody battles and harassment at work, and recommend changes to laws and policies", Ankush added.
Those in favour of a Men's Commission frequently cite the alleged misuse of some gender-specific laws, particularly in relation to marital disputes. These laws are necessary for the safety of women but there should also be safeguards to deal with false complaints, wherever they come from.
In various judgements, the Supreme Court has conceded the possibility of the legal provisions being misused. But it has always maintained that isolated cases of abuse cannot be permitted to water down laws passed to protect women from actual violence and discrimination.
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Legal experts say the setting up of a National Men’s Commission would not necessarily undermine the functioning of the National Commission for Women.
NCW was set up under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 with the mandate to safeguard the rights of women and to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for them. "Every coin has two sides, As important it is that we have this commission we must keep this in mind that if you empower one commission, the case of the other side will get weakened, hence it is very important that we have proper norms laid to have a balance between two", said Rohit Poonia, social media expert.
NCW was established under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, with a mandate to safeguard women's rights and review constitutional and legal protections available to them.
"The National Men's Commission is not suppose to compete with the Women's Commission instead it will fill a gap- offering support, counselling, research and policy recommendations for issues that affect men, while ensuring women's rights remain fully protected. In the need of hour we made the women's commission, now this is the right time to address the issues of man too and so we must have a National Commission for Men", Poonia added while speaking to Dynamite News.
