Senior Citizen Jumps to Death at Shivajinagar Court, Cites 27-Year Legal Battle
A 61-year-old man died by suicide at Pune’s Shivajinagar court, blaming decades-long unresolved land dispute and judicial inertia in his suicide note.
Pune, October 16, 2025: In a harrowing incident that has jolted Pune’s legal and civic circles, a 61-year-old man died by suicide today at the Shivajinagar court complex, citing endless delays in a 27-year-old land dispute in a distressing note. The deceased, Namdev Yashwant Jadhav, reportedly jumped from the third floor of the court building during court hours, collapsing near its interior stairwell. He was immediately rushed to Sassoon Hospital, but officials declared him dead on arrival.
Eyewitness testimony suggests that Jadhav arrived at the court around 11:45 a.m., walked unassumingly to the outer terrace of the third floor, and leapt over the railing, falling through to the second-floor corridor below. The impact left him critically injured. A suicide letter found in his possession elaborated on the anguish that had driven his decision: he accused relatives of forcibly denying him a portion of ancestral land and lamented that, despite decades of legal wrangling, there was no resolution—even as his opponents prospered.
Officials say Jadhav’s father had, in 1997, gifted the land to certain family members, deliberately excluding him. Over time, constructions were completed on those portions, while Jadhav remained embroiled in court battles, forced to live off meager earnings without legal closure. In his note, he did not spare the judiciary either—blaming systemic neglect, repeated adjournments, and what he described as callous disregard of litigants like him.
Legal authorities have sealed the scene, taken over the suicide note, and begun the process of examining court files tied to Jadhav’s case. Investigations into whether procedural lapses or courtroom negligence contributed to the tragedy are underway. The court administration is also expected to review premises safety protocols in light of this event.
This incident has reopened painful questions on India’s judicial delay crisis, especially in civil matters involving vulnerable litigants. When people invest years or decades into seeking redress, how much faith can the system demand? Legal observers note that long-pending cases not only drain financial and emotional resources, but in extreme cases, may drive distressed individuals to tragic steps.
In response, several bar associations and civil society groups in Pune have demanded that chronic civil litigations—especially those older than 20 years—be flagged for priority handling. Some legal aid bodies are also calling for grief counseling mechanisms at court complexes, particularly for upset litigants.
Above the procedural and policy debates lies the human cost. A man reached the brink at the very place meant to administer justice. For many caught in the tangle of court backlogs, Jadhav’s death may resonate too painfully as a fail of the system.
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