A Delhi family court granted Shikhar Dhawan the request to divorce his wife on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. The court ruled that there are grounds for divorce based on the alleged mental cruelty he experienced while married to Aesha Mukerji.
Judge Harish Kumar presided over the proceedings and accepted allegations of mental cruelty from Dhawan against his estranged wife. In the ruling, the presiding judge commented:
“There is no dispute that both parties had agreed to take divorce by mutual consent and that their marriage is otherwise dead long ago and have not been living as husband and wife since August 8, 2020.“
Why Did Shikhar Dhawan Approach the Court for a Divorce?
Aesha Mukerji is accused of orchestrating mental torture on Shikhar Dhawan by forcing the cricketer to live apart from his son for three years. It is a matrimonial offence according to local laws to deprive a parent access to a child without an official divorce. The court then ruled based on this submission and available evidence:
“Respondent’s/ estranged wife’s intentional decision to leave this matter uncontested divorce also shows her desire that the court should pass a decree of divorce even at the cost of holding her guilty of the matrimonial offence.“
“This thought of her has given her the courage to not abide by the order dated March 2, 2023 and June 6, 2023 of this court deliberately and intentionally. Hence, the facts and circumstances of the present case as discussed above petitioners are entitled to a decree of divorce on the grounds of cruelty,”
Full custody of the child is a complex issue, as an Australian court already waded in on this matter to grant Aesha total access to Dhawan’s son. In the Delhi ruling, the court recognized this Australian ruling but noted that they could not deprive Dhawan access to his child under any guise:
“The child is an Australian citizen and is in Australia. Any order or judgement can be implemented in foreign territory effectively only if the State machinery of that foreign country is willing to implement the same either voluntarily or under international obligations,” the family court said.
Dhawan’s son lives in Australia and holds Australian citizenship, having been born there eight years ago. It is a sad experience that his parents are splitting after being together for eleven years.
Did the Court Order Allow Shikhar Dhawan See His Child?
The Family Court of Delhi directed that Dhawan’s ex-wife produce the child for visitation during her school vacation period. Their order also covered overnight stays with Dhawan and his relatives based on the child’s academic schedule:
“In the meantime, subject to the academic schedule of the child, the respondent is hereby directed to bring the child to India for visitation purposes, including an overnight stay, with the petitioner and his family members, at least for half the period of school vacation during the academic calendar. Subject to the academic schedule of the child respondent is further under obligation to let the child have unsupervised meetings with the petitioner in Australia for sufficient duration as and when he visits Australia with advance intimation”, the family court ruled.
Did Shikhar Dhawan Give His Ex-Wife Any Property?
The Family Court granted one of Dhawan’s pleas to hand full ownership of a property in Australia to his ex-wife. Dhawan pled to the court to grant his request to transfer 99% ownership rights to his estranged wife after the divorce.
“The petitioner bought three immovable properties in Australia from his own funds but was compelled by the respondent to make her the 99% owner in one property and joint owner in two properties. The respondent had taken a chunk of the net sale proceeds of one property and the entire net sale proceeds of the second property and was demanding that the title of the third property be transferred to her,”
Dhawan’s intense divorce woes seem to be all over finally, with reports claiming the couple have finally decided to honour the court’s ruling.
Why Did Dhawan Agree to the Divorce?
Reports suggested that the 37-year-old agreed with his ex-wife to love together with their son in India. His ex-wife did not honour their agreement and favoured moving to Australia with their child. She has been out of Dhawan’s reach since 2020, failing to stay with him as agreed for three years.
Dhawan’s estranged wife evidently returned to her former husband in Australia in a marriage that produced two daughters. She committed to her ex-husband in Australia to stay behind, disregarding Dhawan’s request.
