In a significant ruling, a family court in India has granted a divorce citing the wife’s failure to wear sindoor (vermilion) in her parting as indicative of an emotional disconnection from the marriage. The court, led by Judge Alok Kumar of the Family Court Division III, interpreted the absence of sindoor—a traditional symbol of marriage in Indian culture—as a lack of acceptance of the marital relationship.
The husband, a 56-year-old former Senior Assistant at the State Bank from Nehrunagar, had filed for divorce from his 46-year-old wife from Nawabganj, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple, married in December 2008 through Arya Samaj rites without dowry, faced numerous familial disputes. Post-marriage, the wife allegedly pressured her husband to evict his 78-year-old widowed mother from their home.
In November 2011, amidst the husband’s diagnosis with a chronic illness named Berger’s disease, tensions escalated with the wife demanding a divorce and a settlement of 25 Lakh rupees. In October 2014, the wife left the marital home, threatening false legal charges against her in-laws over unmet dowry demands, which included 500,000 rupees and jewelry. She later filed cases of dowry harassment and domestic violence.
During the court proceedings, the wife appeared without sindoor, unable to provide a clear justification when questioned by the husband’s lawyer. The judge deemed the wife’s actions and her allegations of dowry harassment as acts of cruelty, granting the divorce.
Furthermore, the court ordered the husband to pay a one-time alimony of 14.5 Lakh rupees. Despite the wife’s claims that the husband retained her dowry, the court dismissed her petition for its recovery due to insufficient evidence.
