‘Ketan case is a reminder’: Rajya Sabha MP calls for National Commission for Men. What's in the Bill he proposed?

RAjya Sabha fellow member and Lovely pro University founding father Ashok Kumar Mittal has refreshed his call in for a “ subject Commission for Men” citing the Pune case of alleged murder of 26-year-old Ketan Agarwal for which his fiancee and her friend have been arrested.Mittal termed the case deeply disturbing and on Saturday shared a video of Rajya Sabha proceedings from December 2025 when he moved a private member's bill for such a commission. Having been elected from Punjab, he was with the AAP at the time and in April this year claimed “merger” into the BJP as part of a group of seven AAP MPs led by Raghav Chadha.What he said“The Ketan case is a reminder that men, too, can be victims,” Mittal wrote on X, “They deserve institutional support, legal protection, and a platform where their voices are heard. Justice must be equal for everyone, irrespective of gender.” Such private bills hardly get to even the voting stage. Since Independence, only 14 such bills have become law, and none have successfully passed both Houses of Parliament since 1970.Meanwhile, in the Ketan Agarwal murder case, a Pune court on July 3 remanded the prime accused, his fiancée Siya Goyal (20), and her alleged boyfriend Chetan Chaudhary (22) to 14 days of judicial custody till July 16. The court turned down the Lonavala Rural Police's plea for an extension of police custody. It also rejected the application for a polygraph test after both accused officially refused to undergo the lie-detector examination. What's in Mittal's proposed law?The National Commission for Men Bill, 2025, is available on the Rajya Sabha website, with status being “introduced”, on December 5, 2025.Here's what's proposed in it:Rights of Men: The bill proposes the constitution of a National Commission for Men to protect the “rights and welfare of men” and to “inquire into grievances”. That would mean a statutory framework that can “review existing laws and policies affecting men” while promoting “preventive outreach on issues impacting men’s physical, mental and social well-being”.Who'll be members? The commission will be led by a chairperson and vice-chairperson who must be persons “of eminence in the field of law, public administration, gender studies, sociology, psychology, or social work” with at least 15 years of relevant experience. The bill mandates that the membership must include at least one individual from the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes and at least one person who is below the age of 40 years. When inquiring into any matter, the commission would be granted the powers of a civil court.How it should work: A core function of the commission would be to investigate and examine all matters relating to the “violation or deprivation of rights of men” guaranteed by the Constitution. It would also be authorised to “undertake or sponsor research, studies, and data collection” on critical issues such as “male suicide rates, health disparities, unemployment, custodial rights, and domestic abuse”.For support and counselling: To assist “men in distress”, the commission would be tasked with providing direct legal aid, counselling, or rehabilitation services. The commission would also be required to develop and promote educational programmes and awareness campaigns in consultation with academic bodies like the CBSE, NCERT, and UGC, aimed at “fostering gender sensitivity”, promoting the “values of healthy masculinity”, and encouraging “emotional intelligence, mental well-being, and non-violence” among young men in educational institutions.Continued protection for women: The bill explicitly states that nothing within its provisions shall be “construed as limiting or affecting the rights and protections accorded to women” under any existing law. Also, the commission would be restricted from intervening in any complaint where a woman is the complainant unless a competent court of law has formally declared the complaint to be “false, malicious, or an abuse of legal process”.