Cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma have been granted divorce by mutual consent. The court waived the usual 6-month cooling period due to IPL commitments.
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MUMBAI: A family court in Bandra gave permission to famous Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and his wife Dhanashree Verma to get divorced through mutual consent. Both Chahal and Dhanashree had filed a joint request asking the court to allow them to separate legally, and they both personally came to the court for this matter.
Chahal’s lawyer, Nitin Gupta, confirmed the news and said-
“The family court has accepted the joint petition filed by Chahal and Verma seeking divorce by mutual consent.”
The court saw that both Chahal and Dhanashree had followed all the terms of their agreement, and so it gave its decision in their favour.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma had got married in December 2020.
According to what they told the court, they had been living separately since June 2022.
Later, on February 5 this year, both of them submitted a joint petition in the Bandra family court to get a divorce through mutual understanding.
ALSO READ: Compatibility Issues || Yuzvendra Chahal & Dhanashree Verma Officially Divorced
As Chahal is now preparing for the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Bombay High Court on Wednesday requested the family court to make a quick decision before Thursday. This was because Chahal would not be available in the future due to his cricket commitments. He is now playing for Punjab Kings in the IPL, which is starting from March 22.
Usually, under the Hindu Marriage Act, a couple has to wait for six months after filing for divorce. This time is given to see if they want to stay together or not. But in this case, the High Court made an exception. The judges decided to waive the six-month cooling period because both Chahal and Dhanashree had already made up their minds to part ways peacefully.
They had asked the High Court to skip the waiting time as they were applying for divorce with full agreement from both sides. Their petition, filed by advocate Nitin Gupta, also requested the court to tell the family court to handle their case quickly.
Before this, on February 20, the family court had said “no” to skipping the six-month period. The court had a reason.
It said that Chahal had not fully paid the agreed alimony amount of Rs 4.75 crore to Dhanashree.
He had given only Rs 2.37 crore, as per the court records.
A marriage counsellor also said that the couple did not fully follow the rules set during their counselling sessions.
But later, the Bombay High Court disagreed with this view. On Wednesday, the High Court said that Chahal and Dhanashree had followed the terms correctly.
It explained that according to their agreement, the remaining payment of the alimony was to be made only after the court granted the divorce.
So, the court ruled that there was compliance with the consent terms, as they provided for the payment of the second installment of permanent alimony only after the decree of divorce was obtained.
ALSO READ: Mumbai Family Court Grants Divorce to Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma
PREVIOUSLY IN BOMBAY HC
The Bombay High Court On 19th March granted a plea from Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and his separated wife, Dhanashree Verma, seeking to waive the six-month cooling-off period required under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act for a divorce decree.
Single-judge Justice Madhav Jamdar issued the order and instructed the family court to decide on the divorce petition by tomorrow, considering Chahal’s participation in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).
Also Read: Compatibility Issues || Yuzvendra Chahal & Dhanashree Verma Officially Divorced
The Court made this decision after noting that Chahal and Verma have been living separately for over two and a half years and that the terms agreed upon during mediation regarding alimony payments have been complied with.
Under Section 13B(2), a family court may only consider a mutual divorce petition after a six-month period from the date of filing. This cooling-off period is intended to allow for the possibility of reconciliation.
However, the Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that this period can be waived if there is no possibility of resolving the dispute between the parties.
Chahal and Verma were married in December 2020 and separated in June 2022. They filed a joint petition for divorce based on mutual consent on February 5, requesting a waiver of the cooling-off period.
On February 20, the family court denied their request to waive the statutory cooling-off period, citing only partial compliance with the consent terms, which required Chahal to pay Rs.4.75 crore to Dhanashree. As noted by the family court, he had only paid Rs.2.37 crore.
Additionally, the family court referenced a report from a marriage counsellor indicating that there had been only partial compliance with mediation efforts. This prompted the couple to appeal to the High Court.
The High Court concluded that there was compliance with the consent terms, as the second installment of permanent alimony was contingent upon the divorce decree. Consequently, the High Court granted their plea.
According to Section 13B(2), a family court can only consider a mutual divorce petition after a six-month waiting period, which is intended to allow the couple to explore reconciliation.
However, given that Chahal and Dhanashree have been apart for over two years, the Bombay High Court determined that the cooling-off clause was not applicable in this case. The petition filed under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, which allows for divorce by mutual consent.
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The situation became more complex when the family court, on February 20, refused to waive the six-month statutory cooling period, citing partial compliance with a consent term between Chahal and Dhanashree.
Under the consent terms, Chahal had agreed to pay a total of Rs.4.75 crore in permanent alimony to his estranged wife. However, he has reportedly paid only Rs.2.37 crore and 55 thousand to date. The court viewed the non-payment of the remaining amount as a lack of compliance, leading to the rejection of the cooling-off plea.
The family court reached this conclusion after reviewing a report from a family counselor that highlighted the issue of non-compliance. On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court acknowledged that the couple had already spent over two and a half years apart, which supported the argument for compliance with the consent terms regarding the payment of the remaining amount.
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