CHENNAI: The Madras High Court granted divorce to a petitioner by pointing out that the removal of the Mangalsutra by an estranged wife would be the most severe mental torture to the husband.

A bench of Justices VM Velumani and S Soundar issued the verdict granting divorce to petitioner C Shivakumar, a professor at Erode Medical College. Sivakumar approached the High Court after the Family Court rejected his demand for a divorce on June 15, 2016.

During the hearing, the wife had admitted that she removed her thali chain at the time of separation. Although she explained that she retained the thali and only removed the chain, the court pointed out that the act of removing the thali chain had its own significance. The bench pointed out that the tying of thali is an essential ritual in marriage ceremonies that takes place in the country. It added that thali is usually removed only after the death of the husband.

The bench said that the removal of the thali chain is often treated as an unceremonious act. ''We don’t say for a moment that removal of thali chain per se is sufficient to put an end to the marital knot, but the said act of the respondent (wife) is a piece of evidence in drawing an inference about the intentions of the parties. The act of the respondent in removing the thali chain at the time of separation coupled with various other pieces of evidence available on record, compel us to come to a definite conclusion that the parties have no intention to reconcile and continue the marital knot,'' the bench said.