Simply days after starting a brand new chapter in his private life along with his marriage to Sophie Shine, former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan secured a major authorized victory because the Delhi Household Court docket directed his ex-wife Aesha Mukherji to return roughly ₹5.7 crore acquired below a disputed property settlement. The Patiala Home Court docket’s ruling, delivered on February 25, declared that orders handed by an Australian Household Court docket of their matrimonial dispute are usually not binding in India, marking a decisive flip within the long-running cross-border authorized battle.
Shikhar Dhawan’s case: Australian orders put aside by the household courtroom in India
The household courtroom, presided over by Decide Devender Kumar Garg, dominated that the property settlement settlement reached in Australia was “null and void” after accepting Dhawan’s rivalry that the paperwork had been executed below risk, coercion, and fraud. The courtroom held that the Australian courtroom’s orders regarding property division can’t be enforced in opposition to Dhawan in India, as they’re “alien to Indian authorized rules” below the Hindu Marriage Act.
In a major monetary course, the courtroom ordered Mukherji to return the sale proceeds of two properties positioned in Australia – AU $812,397.50 acquired as interim settlement from a property in Berwick, and AU $82,000 retained from the sale of one other property in Clyde North. The courtroom additionally directed that curiosity at 9 per cent every year be paid on these quantities from the date of submitting of the swimsuit till full fee is made .
Moreover, the courtroom restrained Mukherji from imposing the Australian courtroom’s anti-suit injunction and associated orders in opposition to Dhawan.
Coercion and threats to wreck Dhawan’s popularity
Dhawan had approached the Delhi courtroom difficult the Australian proceedings, arguing that he by no means voluntarily submitted to the overseas courtroom’s jurisdiction. In his submissions, the cricketer alleged that shortly after their marriage in October 2012, Mukherji started threatening to flow into fabricated and defamatory materials to wreck his popularity and cricket profession if he didn’t meet her monetary calls for.
The courtroom was instructed that properties bought with Dhawan’s personal funds had been registered both collectively or predominantly in Mukherji’s title below stress. In a single occasion, Mukherji was listed as a 99 per cent proprietor of a property purchased completely with Dhawan’s cash. Dhawan additionally alleged that he was compelled to buy property in Australia in her title, which was later bought in 2019, with the proceeds retained by her as a part of an interim association.
The Australian settlement: What it awarded to Aesha Mukerji?
The Australian Household Court docket had beforehand handed orders in February 2024 dividing the couple’s international property, together with Dhawan’s properties and funds in India. Underneath that settlement, Mukherji was awarded 15 per cent of the whole asset pool, which allowed her to retain property price roughly ₹7.46 crore (AU $1.17 million) and granted her a further ₹15.95 crore (AU $2.5 million) from Dhawan, together with the switch of a property.
Between 2021 and 2024, a number of orders had been handed by Australian courts relating to the division of their property. Mukherji, an Australian citizen, had sought 99 per cent possession of three properties in Australia and custody of their son Zoravar.
Why Australian regulation doesn’t apply in India?
The Delhi courtroom’s ruling hinged on the basic variations between Australian and Indian matrimonial property legal guidelines. Underneath the Australian Household Regulation Act 1975, all properties -whether acquired in Australia or overseas – are introduced right into a “marital pool” for division, with courts capable of award as much as 60 per cent of property primarily based on every occasion’s monetary and non-financial contributions, future wants, and incomes capability.
In distinction, Indian regulation below the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 mandates equitable distribution primarily based on Indian authorized rules. The courtroom noticed that the Australian authorized framework was inconsistent with Indian public coverage and opposite to the Hindu Marriage Act . Because the marriage was solemnised and registered in India, the overseas courtroom lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute.
Decide Garg particularly famous that Dhawan’s participation within the Australian proceedings couldn’t be handled as a voluntary submission to its jurisdiction, because it was allegedly carried out below concern and coercion.
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Dhawan’s marriage and divorce timeline
Dhawan and Mukherji married in Delhi in October 2012. Mukherji, who was primarily based in Australia and had two kids from a earlier marriage, continued to reside there after the marriage whereas Dhawan travelled between the 2 nations. Their son Zoravar was born in December 2014.
Variations between the couple emerged quickly after the wedding, resulting in extended authorized disputes in each India and Australia. A Delhi courtroom granted them divorce in October 2023 on grounds of psychological cruelty, noting that Dhawan had suffered psychological trauma after being refrained from their son for years . Whereas everlasting custody was not granted, visitation rights and entry to video calls had been offered. Dhawan later said that he was subsequently blocked from speaking along with his son.
Additionally READ: Shikhar Dhawan’s wife – All you need to know about the Irish beauty Sophie Shine
