Bombay HC orders family court to decide Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma divorce case by tomorrow

Advocate Nitin Gupta for the petitioners told the bench that Chahal will not be available from March 21 and the further delay will prolong the agony, therefore an immediate decree of divorce be granted

Section 13 B (2) of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for a six-month cooling-off period for couples seeking divorce with mutual consent to reconsider their decision and reconcile their differences.

A single-judge bench of Justice Madhav J Jamdar passed the order while hearing a joint plea filed earlier this month by the two challenging the February 20 order of the family court. The couple sought divorce based on mutual consent.

The plea stated that petitioners are suffering due to adverse publicity, therefore, it was necessary to allow waiver of statutory cooling-off period.

The court considered that the two had been living separately for over two years and had complied with consent terms regarding the payment of alimony filed during the mediation process.

The family court had referred to non-compliance of consent terms filed between the two.

Chahal, as per consent terms, had agreed to pay a permanent alimony of Rs 4.75 crore to Verma, of which the first instalment of Rs 2.375 crore was paid and the second instalment of the same amount was yet to be paid.

However, the family court referred to the non-payment of the remaining amount and had refused to waive the cooling-off period.

The couple married in December 2020 and had been living separately since June 2022. They had filed a joint divorce petition before the family court on February 5, that is, after a period of two and half years, along with an application seeking to waive the six-month cooling-off period.

The family court had also referred to a report from the marriage counsellor, which said there was partial compliance with mediation efforts.

Justice Jamdar, however, found that the two had complied with consent terms, as the terms stipulated that the demand draft of the second instalment of permanent alimony of Rs. 2.375 crore will be handed over at the time of passing of the decree of divorce.

It referred to Supreme Court judgement which ruled that family courts are free to waive the statutory period to consider divorce applications in cases where the couple had lived separately for over 18 months before filing the petition, attempts to resolve differences have failed and alimony claims have been settled.

“Thus, it is clear that in the facts and circumstances the waiting period will only prolong their agony. There is no impediment in granting the Application,” the bench held while allowing the plea.