In a landmark judgment, the High Court of Karnataka upheld that demeaning a spouse due to their skin color amounts to cruelty, thereby granting grounds for divorce.

The ruling was the outcome of a case involving a Bengaluru-based couple, where the wife consistently berated her husband for his dark skin tone.
The 44-year-old husband sought divorce after enduring consistent humiliation and derogatory remarks about his complexion. While he bore these insults for the sake of their child, the relentless emotional distress was deemed sufficient grounds for marital dissolution under Section 13(i)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act.

The wife tried to deflect blame by accusing her husband of extramarital affairs, a move the court labeled as another form of cruelty. Her further attempts to involve legal provisions such as Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and the Domestic Violence Act only deepened the marital discord.

Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde, who presided over the appeal, shed light on the deeply entrenched skin color biases in society, marking an important step in recognizing such prejudice as a form of emotional cruelty.

Overturning a prior family court ruling, the High Court’s verdict emphasizes the significance of emotional well-being in marital relationships and sets a precedent in battling age-old color biases.