‘Why would husband be interested’: Judge tells woman over not wearing sindoor, mangalsutra

A district court in Pune saw a bizarre exchange between a woman who had accused her husband of domestic violence and a judge who was acting as a mediator. At one point during the exchange, the judge tells the woman why would her husband be interested in her if she doesn’t wear mangalsutra and sindoor.

A disputes lawyer in Pune, Ankur R Jahagirdar, shared the incident through a LinkedIn post which is now in wide circulation on social media. In the post, Ankur shared he witnessed a couple, who had separated a while ago, was being encouraged by a judge to solve the matter amicably.

During the course of mediation, he says, the judge turns to the woman and says, “I can see that you are not wearing a mangalsutra and bindi. If you don’t behave like a married woman, why would your husband show any interest in you?”

  Continue reading

This is not a one off incident of a woman being reprimanded for not wearing mangalsutra or bindi. In 2022, the Madras High Court granted divorce to a man after observing that not wearing mangalsutra by an estranged wife would amount to subjecting the husband to “mental cruelty of the highest order.”