High Court Rejects Plea to Remove 'Kiss Emoji' Question from Divorce Case

Kathmandu. The Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has rejected a plea by a woman seeking to remove a question related to the 'kiss emoji' from a divorce case. The woman had filed a petition in the High Court demanding the removal of a question set by the court in the divorce case filed by her husband.

A bench of High Court Justice Rahul Bharti rejected the wife's petition, ruling that its inclusion in the case would not cause her any prejudice or harm. The court stated in its decision, 'In this case, the husband has accused the wife of cruelty, and therefore, the responsibility to prove it lies with the husband. If the husband fails to present evidence, his divorce petition will be dismissed, and the wife's stance will be proven correct.'

The court said, 'The family court did not need to create a separate question for the 'kiss emoji' as it was part of the husband's main allegation of 'cruelty'. However, now that the question has been framed, the court concludes that it will not cause any legal harm to the wife.'

The husband, a doctor by profession, had filed a divorce case in the Jammu Family Court under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, accusing his doctor wife of 'cruelty'. In his complaint, the husband claimed that he had caught his wife red-handed sending a 'kiss emoji' to another man (who is also a doctor). Regarding this matter, the family court had set a question during the hearing of the case: 'Did the husband catch his wife red-handed sending a kiss emoji to another man?' It was this question that led the wife to approach the High Court, demanding the removal of that point and the dismissal of the husband's petition.

The couple was married in May 2018 and has a daughter. The husband initiated divorce proceedings in January 2025, citing cruelty and other allegations against his wife. The family court has set questions in this case, including those related to the 'kiss emoji', as well as other issues such as death threats and being thrown out of the house.

While the High Court refused to dismiss the divorce petition, it has given the wife the liberty to raise the issue of prior forgiveness of the wife's mistakes in the lower court, if applicable.