A man in India divorced his wife for cooking him instant noodles every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, judge says

• In India, a man divorced his wife for cooking him instant noodles for all his meals, a judge said.
• The judge named it the "Maggi case" after a popular brand of instant noodles.

A judge in India said a man divorced his wife for cooking him instant noodles every day.

ML Raghunath, a principal district- and sessions-court judge, recounted the case on May 27 at a press conference at a court in Mysuru, a city in the southwestern region of India, The New Indian Express reported.

Raghunath told the outlet he was a district judge in Ballari when he attended to what he called the "Maggi case." He did not provide information on the date of the case or the names of the couple involved. Insider was not able to independently verify the case.

The man said his wife would buy packets of Maggi noodles, a brand of instant noodles, and serve them to him for breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout their marriage, Raghunath said at the press conference, according to the news outlet.

Eventually, the couple divorced with mutual consent, the judge said. Under India's Special Marriage Act of 1954, divorce by mutual consent requires both parties to live separately for one year and agree to dissolve the marriage.

A 2018 study by the International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences found India recorded a divorce rate of 11%. The same study found the US recorded a 50% divorce rate.

While India's divorce rate is low, Raghunath said more married couples had been trying to call it quits in the past few years.

"Divorce cases are increasing drastically over the years," Raghunath said at the press conference, according to The New Indian Express. "Couples have to stay together for at least a year before seeking divorce. If there was no such law, there would be divorce petitions filed directly from wedding halls."

The judge added that divorces were more prevalent in urban areas than in rural villages.

"In rural areas, village panchayats intervene and settle the problems. Women have no independence and their fear of society and family sentiments force them to cope with the situation. But in cities, women are educated and financially independent," he said at the press conference, according to The New Indian Express.

Shubhada Maitra, a professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, told the Hindustan Times last year that increased expectations were one of the reasons for the increase in divorce cases in India. Women in India are becoming more career-oriented, but many men still expect their wives to fulfill traditional roles, Maitra said.

"So, women bear double brunt, by working as an earning member of the family and at the same time also taking care of the household chores," Maitra told the Hindustan Times.