The Delhi family court has granted divorce to cricketer Shikhar Dhawan and his estranged wife, ruling that Dhawan is entitled to a divorce on the grounds of cruelty. The court stated that both parties had agreed to the divorce and had not been living as husband and wife since August 2020. The court also noted that Dhawan’s wife did not contest the divorce, indicating her desire for the court to pass the decree of divorce. The court further explained that Dhawan’s wife had obtained favorable orders from the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Australia, which gave her the confidence to disregard previous court orders intentionally. Based on these circumstances, the court concluded that Dhawan is entitled to a divorce on the grounds of cruelty.
In addition to the divorce, the court granted Dhawan permanent custody of their minor son. Dhawan argued that it would be detrimental to the child’s well-being to remain with his mother, who had consistently acted against his welfare. Dhawan also mentioned that a criminal case is pending against his wife, which further weighed in his favor. However, the issue of custody in this case is more complicated due to several factors. The court in Australia had directed Dhawan to withdraw his custody claim, and the court in India had directed his wife to withdraw her custody proceedings in Australia. The court stated that any order or judgment regarding custody can only be effectively implemented in Australia if the state machinery of that country is willing to comply.
The court ordered Dhawan’s wife to bring their child to India for visitation purposes, including an overnight stay, with Dhawan and his family members. The court also obliged Dhawan’s wife to allow unsupervised meetings between Dhawan and their child in Australia, depending on the child’s academic schedule.
Dhawan claimed that his wife had induced him into marriage to extort money from him. She threatened to fabricate defamatory material against him and harm his reputation and cricketing career if he did not comply with her demands for money. Dhawan stated that he purchased three properties in Australia using his own funds but was compelled to make his wife the majority owner in one property and a joint owner in two properties. She also took a significant portion of the sale proceeds from one property and all the sale proceeds from the second property. Dhawan’s wife demanded that the title of the third property be transferred to her.
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