The court, in its recent judgment, granted a divorce to cricketer Shikhar Dhawan and his estranged wife. The court ruled that Shikhar Dhawan was entitled to a divorce on the grounds of cruelty. The judge noted that both parties had mutually agreed to seek a divorce, and their marriage had effectively ended since August 8, 2020, as they no longer lived as husband and wife.
Importantly, the estranged wife’s decision to leave the matter uncontested indicated her desire for the court to grant a divorce, even if it meant being held guilty of matrimonial offenses. The court pointed out that she had obtained favorable orders from the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Australia, which emboldened her to disregard the court’s orders dated March 2, 2023, and June 6, 2023.
The court decreed the divorce based on the grounds mentioned in Section 13(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, effectively dissolving their marriage that had taken place on December 30, 2012, in a Gurudwara in New Delhi.
Furthermore, the petitioner had sought permanent custody of their minor son, citing concerns about the child’s well-being due to the respondent’s actions from the child’s birth. Additionally, the pending criminal case against the respondent weighed in favor of the petitioner’s custody request.
The custody issue was complicated, primarily because of legal proceedings in both India and Australia. The court in Australia had directed the petitioner to withdraw his custody claim in India, while this court had directed the respondent to do the same in Australia, citing the “doctrine of forum convenience.” This made the custody matter exceptionally complex.
The court further says: “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.”
“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, atleast 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.”
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