NEW DELHI: The Chhattisgarh High Court ruled in favour of a family courtโs verdict denying a manโs divorce application, calling for the eradication of โdiscrimination based on skin colourโ.
Earlier, the husband had claimed โcrueltyโ being meted out to him on the pretext of his wife deserting him. However, the court ruled in the wifeโs favour as she stated that she was insulted regularly and was thrown out by the husbandโs family because of her dark complexion.
The court then highlighted that through its judgement it could not posit an โincentive to promote a (colourist) mindset). โThe human race needs to change the dialogue at homeโฆ which may not promote the fairness preference of skin,โ a bench of Justice Gautam Bhaduri and Justice Deepak Kumar Tiwari said.โ
During the verdict, the court also referred to studies on the role complexion plays in the selection of marital partners. The HC also referred to the โlong-runningโ debate on fairness creams, which was the subject of an amendment in the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, in 2020.
Also Read: Future of female wrestlers bleak: Sakshi Mallik retires as Brij Bhushanโs aide becomes WFI Prezโ
The study further indicatesโฆ dark-skinned (women) were rated lower than their counterparts, and the majority of skin-lightening cosmetics target women. They are likely to portray a dark-skinned woman as under-confident and insecureโฆ unable to secure success in life,โ the court noted.
As a result, the court highlighted that they would not incentivise the husbandโs actions which would enable others to discriminate against their spouse. โTherefore, the incentive cannot be given to a husband to promote such a mindset of the society for preference of light skin over dark. We are of the view that no ground of cruelty, or desertion, has been made out by the husband to get the decree of divorce,โ the court noted.
The married couple had been married since 2005, the verdict was passed in November.
