Wearing the ‘sindoor’, or vermillion, is the religious duty of a married Hindu woman as it demonstrates her marital status, a family court in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has said, reported PTI.

The principal judge of Indore family court NP Singh made the remarks while directing a woman to return to her husband's home with immediate effect, in an order passed on March 1.

The court was hearing a petition of a man seeking restoration of his rights as a husband under the Hindu Marriage Act. His wife, who was seeking a divorce, had separated from him five years ago. The couple got married in 2017 and have a five-year-old son.

During the hearing, the woman alleged that her husband harassed her physically and mentally for dowry. However, the court said the woman had not submitted any police complaints or reports regarding her allegations.

The court said that the woman had not been abandoned by her husband, but she had left him. “She has forsaken her husband,” the court order said. “She is not wearing the sindoor.”