Sari can’t end marriage: HC

Sari may be a bothersome garment but a marriage cannot be ended over it, Bombay High Court has held.

Sari may be a bothersome garment but a marriage cannot be ended over it, Bombay High Court has held.

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Dismissing the petition of a homeopathic practitioner, a division bench held that in-laws’ insistence on sari can’t amount to “cruelty” under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The petitioner, who got married in 2003, filed a criminal complaint against the husband and his family for subjecting her to torture for dowry. She also filed a divorce petition in the family court.

She cited instances of cruelty, including her husband’s illicit affair. Another grievance was that she was forced to wear sari by her in-laws.

After the family court rejected her application, she filed an appeal in the High Court. Upholding the family court’s verdict, the HC said the in-laws’ insistence on her wearing sari can’t be an act of cruelty to dissolve the marriage.