Yesterday, On 30th July, The Supreme Court stayed the Delhi High Court’s order granting a divorce to chef Kunal Kapur. The Delhi High Court had noted that Kapur’s wife’s behaviour towards him lacked dignity and empathy, which constituted cruelty.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, On Monday, stayed the Delhi High Court‘s ruling that granted a divorce to celebrity chef Kunal Kapur. This decision came after Kapur’s wife appealed to the Supreme Court, contesting the High Court’s judgment.
A bench consisting of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti requested a response from Kunal Kapur and referred the case to the Supreme Court Mediation Centre to explore the possibility of an out-of-court settlement.
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The Delhi High Court previously granted the divorce in April, citing alleged cruelty by Kapur’s wife. The High Court’s ruling noted that her behaviour towards Kapur lacked dignity and empathy, which falls under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The High Court criticized the family court for not granting Kapur’s divorce plea and noted that the WhatsApp messages between the couple indicated Kapur not allowed to communicate with his son.
In her appeal, Kapur’s wife argued that the High Court’s judgment, delivered six months after being reserved, violated Supreme Court guidelines. She claimed continuous communication with Kapur and his in-laws to raise their child together and pointed out that the couple had taken vacations and lived together after the alleged acts of cruelty. She also argued that the family court previously questioned the authenticity of the recordings Kapur used to support his claims of cruelty.
Kapur, who married in 2008 and has a son born in 2012, alleged that his wife frequently called the police to threaten him and his family. He recounted an incident in September 2016, where his wife disrupted a shoot at MasterChef India’s set, leading him to obtain a restraining order.
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Kapur also accused his wife of threatening to spread false rumours and file criminal complaints against him and his parents, even slapping him before a shoot. In response, his wife denied these allegations, stating that she sacrificed her career to support her family and husband. She added that her in-laws regularly taunted her for working and not conforming to their traditional expectations of a daughter-in-law.
The family court previously indicated a possibility for reconciliation and noted that merely calling the police does not constitute cruelty unless the complaint is proven false. Kapur’s wife also highlighted that the family court considered Kapur’s accusations to be exaggerated attempts to dissolve the marriage.
Kunal Kapur’s legal representation included Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora and advocates Ranjeeta Rohatgi, Saket Sikri, Zeba Khair, and Ananya Garg.