New Delhi, Feb 22 (Agencies) : Delhi High Court granted permission to a man to divorce his estranged wife, saying that a single letter can constitute an 'act of cruelty'.

The man in question has been living separately since last 28 years from his wife, with whom he married in 1980. In 1987, he left for US leaving behind his wife and 4-year-old daughter in India.

In 1990, the man receives a letter from his wife, that stated that they should head for a divorce as she has found an 'old friend' who is ready to marry her as well as accept her minor daughter.

The report, published in TOI, says, when the matter came up in court in 1990, the wife admitted that there was no truth in the letter and she had lied and was anxious to live with her husband, abroad or back home.

However, in a surprising twist, Justice Najmi Waziri of Delhi High Court termed the 'threat letter by the wife' an act of cruelty and pointed out the mental agony caused to the husband due to this. Justice Waziri uphold the decision of a trial court to dissolve the marriage on ground of cruelty.

"For a husband living away from his wife since 1987, to have received a letter from her intimating him about her unequivocal decision to dissolve the marriage and marry another man would have been a pain as grievous as any to endure. Such an element of rejection, coupled with brunt of emotional infidelity by the wife, can break the spirit of the husband to continue marital ties," TOI quoted Justice Waziri as saying.