Yuzvendra Chahal, Dhanashree Verma’s divorce plea fast-tracked

Justice Madhav Jamdar directed the Bandra family court in the city to decide the couple's divorce petition by March 20 as the cricketer would not be available after March 21 on account of the IPL

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday put on fast track a divorce-by-mutual consent petition of cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and his estranged wife Dhanashree Verma, waiving the mandatory six-month cooling-off period.

Justice Madhav Jamdar directed the Bandra family court in the city to decide the couple’s divorce petition by March 20 as the cricketer would not be available after March 21 on account of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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The cricketer and Verma had filed a joint petition before the HC seeking that the cooling-off period be waived in their case as they have applied for divorce by mutual consent.

The petition, filed through advocate Nitin Gupta, also prayed for a direction to the family court to decide the divorce petition expeditiously.

The couple challenged the family court order of February 20 refusing to waive the cooling-off period.

Under the Hindu Marriage Act, a couple has to undergo six-month cooling-off period before divorce is granted.

The objective is to provide time for exploring the possibility of reconciliation.

Granting relief to the estranged couple, Justice Jamdar noted that “petitioner No 1” (Chahal) was participating in the IPL, and might not be available after March 21, as informed by his lawyer. “The family court is hence requested to decide their divorce plea by tomorrow (March 20),” the HC said.

The IPL T20 cricket tournament is scheduled to start from March 22. Chahal is part of the Punjab Kings team. Chahal and Dhanashree Verma got married in December 2020. As per their petition, they separated in June 2022.

On February 5, they filed a joint petition before the family court seeking divorce by mutual consent.

The high court took note of the fact that Chahal and Verma were living apart for more than two and a half years, and there was compliance with the consent terms arrived at during mediation between the two parties regarding the payment of alimony.

The family court had refused to waive the cooling-off period on the ground that there was only partial compliance with the consent terms which required Chahal to pay Rs 4.75 crore to Dhanashree. He had paid Rs 2.37 crore, the family court noted. It also cited a report of the marriage counselor which said there was only partial compliance with the mediation efforts.

But the high court on Wednesday held 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. “There is no impediment in the fact and circumstances of the case in allowing the petition. Accordingly, the impugned order (of the family court) is quashed,” the HC said.