The Gujarat High Court on 27th November upheld a family court order of granting divorce to a couple, who grew apart due to dietary differences. The divorce order ended a 23-year-long marriage after the couple failed to reconcile a conflict relating to the use of onions and garlic in the food. The divorce was granted to the couple unopposed from either side.
As per reports, the couple, married in 2002, developed differences over the wife’s decision to avoid the use of onions and garlic in the food due to her adherence to the Swaminarayan faith. The husband informed the High Court that his mother had to cook food without onion and garlic for his wife and with onion and garlic for the rest of the family. However, the wife claimed that her dietary practices were known to the husband before the marriage. “Following of the religion and consumption of onion and garlic was the trigger point of the differences between the parties,” noted a Division Bench of Justice Sangeeta K Vishen and Justice Nisha M Thakore.
The case came up before the High Court regarding a dispute relating to the payment of maintenance under the family court order. Both parties had challenged the family court order regarding the maintenance. The wife sought increased maintenance from the husband, and the husband wanted to pay a lump sum alimony instead of a monthly payment. However, the High Court dismissed both appeals and upheld the family court order.
The High Court reviewed the records, including the salary certificates of the husband, to assess his annual income. The family court directed the husband to pay the wife ₹8,000 per month for the period from July 2013 to July 2020 and ₹10,000 per month from July 2020 onwards.
The court took into consideration his responsibilities toward his parents and adult son. Apart from that, the judges also noted that in an earlier criminal case, the wife had mentioned that she had been employed. After assessing all the records, the judges said that no additional evidence was submitted from either side to justify a different assessment than that made in the family court order. Therefore, the High Court refused to make any changes to the quantum as well as the mode of payment of maintenance and upheld the family court’s order.
Notably, the husband had filed a complaint in the Mahila Police Station, Ahmedabad, alleging “torture and harassment” by his wife. Consequently, the wife left her matrimonial home with their child in 2007 due to differences with her husband. The same year, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the couple to make attempts at reconciliation. However, when the reconciliation attempt failed, the husband filed for divorce in the Ahmedabad family court in 2013 on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. The family court granted the divorce in May 2024.
