Removing thali (mangalsutra), is ground for divorce?

The High Court considered removal of thali as a piece of evidence to reflect the parties’ intentions to end the marital relationship.

Can removal of thali (Mangalsutra) by one’s wife would amount to subjecting the husband to mental cruelty of the highest order, was the issue examined by Madras High Court recently in [C Sivakumar v A Srividhya].

The Court was hearing a husband’s plea seeking divorce on the grounds of cruelty reasoning that his wife suspected his character, visited his office to create a scene, and linked him with colleagues.

The Court categorically held that suspecting the character of the husband, visiting his office and creating a scene and then filing a complaint against him without submitting any evidence, would amount to mental cruelty.

However, as regards removal of thali, the judgment does not per se state that the same amounts to cruelty.

As highlighted in the judgment, when the wife claimed that she only wished to reunite with her husband and live happily with him, the husband pointed out that she had removed her thali on leaving his company.

The Court considered this fact as a piece of evidence to reflect the parties’ intentions to end the marital relationship. 

The removal of thali along with other evidence was considered by the Court to come to the conclusion that there was no intention on the part of the couple to reconcile.

In fact, Justices VM Velumani and S Sounthar clarified that, not for a moment, was the removal of the thali sufficient to put an end to a marriage.

“We don't say for a moment that removal of thali chain per se sufficient to put an end to the marital knot, but the said act of respondent is a piece of evidence in drawing an inference about the intentions of the parties,” the judgment said.

However, Court did discuss an older decision rendered by the Madras High Court itself in 2017 in the case of Vallabhi v R Rajasabahi in which it was held that removal of thali can be said to be mental cruelty.

Although the Court in the present case simply placed reliance on this earlier decision to reflect on the significance of the thali in a marriage, this seems to have been misconstrued as the bench's final dictat.

While the Court concluded that the husband was subjected to cruelty nonetheless, the same was determined without considering the removal of the thali.

The removal of thali was taken into consideration by the Court to determine the intention of the parties to discontinue the marital relationship.

#divorce #familylaw #mangalshutra #mentalcruelty

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