The Allahabad High Court has stated that a woman’s choice to forgo wearing a 'purdah' (veil) does not constitute cruelty towards her husband and, therefore, cannot be used as a basis for seeking divorce.

A division bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Donadi Ramesh made this observation while hearing an appeal filed by a man whose divorce petition had been dismissed by a lower court.

The court granted the divorce, citing desertion, as the husband and wife had been living apart for over 23 years.

The husband had cited two reasons for seeking divorce: mental cruelty, claiming that his wife was independent, frequently went out on her own, and did not observe the practice of 'purdah'; and desertion.

The couple married on February 26, 1990, and their 'gauna' ceremony occurred on December 4, 1992. Gauna is a Hindu wedding ceremony in northern India when the bride goes to her husband’s house after marriage.

They welcomed a son on December 2, 1995. While they lived together sporadically, they have not cohabited for more than 23 years, and their son is now an adult.

The court allowed the man's appeal, saying, "The appellant may claim mental cruelty committed by the respondent to the extent she has deserted the appellant for very long. In any case, the respondent (wife) is found to have deserted the appellant and to have sustained that desertion for a long period, which has now exceeds 23 years."

"That wilful act of the respondent and her refusal (even now) to cohabit with the appellant to revive her matrimonial relationship appears to be an act of desertion committed of degree as may itself lead to dissolution of her marriage. Here, we note, the respondent has not only refused cohabitation with the appellant, but she has also never made any effort to seek restitution of her conjugal rights," the court added. 

Source: India Today