A big development has emerged from the divorce case featuring Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and his wife estranged Dhanashree Verma.
According to an order by the Bombay High Court, the couple has been allowed to waive a 6-month cooling period post-divorce. The honourable court has directed the family court to decide the divorce plea of cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and his estranged wife Dhanashree Verma by March 20 because of the Punjab Kings cricketer’s participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season from March 22.
Bar and Bench posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Bombay High Court has overturned a Family Court decision that denied the request to waive the statutory cooling-off period for the divorce of cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma under the Hindu Marriage Act. A bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar has also directed the family court to decide the divorce petition by tomorrow considering Chahal’s participation in the upcoming IPL.”
According to Bar and Bench, the couple that got married in December 2020 has been living apart since June 2022. It was only in February this year that they decided to file a divorce plea before the Bandra Family Court. The couple also filed an application along with the petition to waive the cooling period.
As per Section 13B(2), a family court can consider a mutual petition for divorce only after six months from the date of its filing. The couple is given a cooling-off period in order to explore possibilities of settlement and reunion. But, with Chahal and Dhanshree living apart from each other for more than 2 years, the Bombay HC didn’t feel that the cooling-off clause applied in this case.
The plea was filed under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, suggesting divorce by mutual consent.
The matter was complicated when the court, on February 20, refused to waive the 6 months statutory cooling period, citing partial compliance with regards to a consent term between Chahal and Dhanashree.
As per the consent term, Chahal had agreed to pay permanent alimony to his estranged wife of Rs 4 crore 75 lakhs to Verma. However, the cricketer is said to have only paid Rs 2 crore 37 lakhs and 55 thousand till date. The non-payment of the rest of the amount was seen by the court as a matter of non-compliance, hence the cooling-off plea was rejected.
The family court came to a decision after checking the family counselor’s report which had highlighted the case of non-compliance. On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court noted that the couple had already spent over two and a half years apart, a fact which ruled in favour of compliance with the consent terms, as it provided for the payment of the remaining amount.
