A family court in Mumbai has officially granted a divorce to Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and his estranged wife, Dhanashree Verma.
The decision was confirmed by Chahal’s advocate, Nitin Gupta, and Verma’s advocate, Aditi Mohoni. The court’s ruling came a day after the Bombay High Court directed the family court to expedite the decision, as Chahal is set to participate in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).
As per the divorce settlement, Chahal is required to pay alimony of ₹4.75 crores to Verma in two installments.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court had granted a plea filed by Chahal and Verma to waive the six-month cooling-off period stipulated under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act for mutual divorce. The court took into account that the couple had been living separately for over two and a half years and that the consent terms, including alimony payment, had been agreed upon during mediation.
Chahal, who plays as a spinner for the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, will now focus on joining his team for the tournament starting on March 22.
The couple, who tied the knot in December 2020, had been separated since June 2022. They filed a joint divorce petition on February 5, seeking dissolution of their marriage by mutual consent along with a waiver of the statutory cooling-off period.
Initially, the family court denied their request on February 20, citing only partial compliance with the alimony payment terms. At that point, Chahal had paid ₹2.37 crores out of the agreed amount.
However, the Bombay High Court overruled the family court’s decision, stating that compliance had been met since the consent terms allowed for the second installment to be paid after the divorce decree. Consequently, the High Court directed the family court to issue a ruling on the matter, leading to the finalization of the divorce on Thursday.
