'Cruelty' inflicted upon Shikhar Dhawan by his wife; Delhi court grants divorce

A Delhi court has granted a divorce to the renowned cricketer Shikhar Dhawan citing grounds of cruelty inflicted upon him by his estranged wife Aesha MukherjeeShikhar Dhawan and Aesha Mukherjee entered into matrimony in 2012 and have a 10yearold son named Zoraver Dhawan Both Aesha and Zoraver are Australian citizens with Aesha having been previously married and having two daughters from her first husbandAccording to Bar and Bench Judge Harish Kumar accepted the allegations on the ground that Mukherji either didnt contest them or failed to defend herself Kumar held that Mukerji subjected Dhawan to mental affliction by forcing him to live separately from their son for years Kumar observed that Shikhar Dhawan had endured mental anguish due to his wifes actions which essentially led to a longdistance marriage by residing in Australia and keeping him separated from his son for an extended periodIn his petition Shikhar Dhawan contended that his wife had initially promised to relocate to India to live with him considering his inability to make a similar move to Australia due to his cricketing commitments However she subsequently reneged on this commitment citing the potential loss of custody of her two daughters to her former husbandAlso read A Dhawanless ODI World CupHe Dhawan through no fault of his own endured tremendous agony and heartache living apart from his own son for years While the wife denied the allegations and claimed a genuine desire to reside in India with him she chose not to contest this assertion The respondents conduct in the manner described has inflicted such cruelty agony and trauma on him that it was impossible for the petitioner to salvage the marriage the court concludedDhawan also alleged that Aesha had coerced him into making her the proprietor of three properties he had purchased in Australia She held a 99 per cent stake in one property and shared ownership in the other twoThe court determined that Aesha failed to demonstrate that she did not compel Shikhar Dhawan to include her as a property owner and that she had also contributed funds to their acquisition The respondent needed to establish that the properties were purchased with her finances or that her name was included due to affection Therefore Dhawans claim that she compelled him to make her a partial owner in all three properties or that she received the proceeds from their sale must be considered credible the court statedAdditionally the court upheld Shikhar Dhawans assertions that Aesha had pressured him to provide financial support not only for their son but also for her two daughters for whom she was already receiving support payments from her former spouseThe courts verdict has now granted mandatory visitation rights to Shikhar Dhawan allowing him to spend time with his son both in India and Australia It has also directed Aesha to facilitate their sons visits to India including overnight stays with Shikhar Dhawan and his family particularly during school holidays With inputs from agencies