Gujarat High Court Upholds Divorce Over Religious Dietary Restrictions: 23-Year Marriage Ends Due to Onion and Garlic Dispute

Ahmedabad:

A couple in Gujarat ended their 23-year marriage due to an ongoing dispute regarding the wife's religious dietary choice to avoid onion and garlic consumption.

The Gujarat High Court has affirmed the divorce ruling issued by an Ahmedabad family court, concluding the long-running conflict between the spouses over these common kitchen ingredients.

Justices Sangeeta Vishen and Nisha Thakore, forming a division bench, dismissed the woman's challenge to the marriage dissolution after she withdrew her opposition, according to the High Court order dated November 27.

The central issue causing friction between the couple was the wife's abstention from onion and garlic, which she explained was due to her adherence to the Swaminarayan sect's religious practices.

Since their marriage in 2002, the husband's mother had prepared separate meals for the wife without these ingredients, while cooking regular dishes with onion and garlic for other family members, as documented in the court order.

"Following the religion and consumption of onion and garlic was the trigger point of the differences between the parties," noted the court.

Although the wife initially petitioned the High Court against the family court's divorce decree, during proceedings she no longer contested the marriage dissolution itself.

"The wife was not contesting the dissolution of the marriage, but the concern is of the alimony granted by the learned Judge," stated the order.

The division bench ultimately upheld the family court's divorce decision.

Previously, the husband had filed a complaint with Ahmedabad's Mahila Police Station alleging "torture and harassment" by his wife. The situation deteriorated until 2007, when the wife left the matrimonial home with their child due to marital differences.

In 2013, the husband petitioned for divorce in the Ahmedabad family court, claiming he had been "subjected to cruelty and the wife had deserted him," according to court documents.

The family court granted the divorce in May 2024.

During High Court proceedings, the woman noted that despite the family court's direction, she had not received maintenance payments for 18 months.

Her legal representative informed the court that the total outstanding maintenance amounted to Rs 13,02,000, of which she had received Rs 2,72,000 as interim support. The husband had previously deposited Rs 4,27,000 during the litigation process.

The High Court ordered this amount to be transferred to the wife after verification and directed the husband to deposit the remaining sum with the family court, which would then transfer the funds to the woman's bank account.