Shikhar Dhawan gets big relief from court, order to return Rs 5.72 crore to ex-wife

In a big relief to Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, Delhi Family Court on Monday ordered him to return approximately Rs 5.72 crore to his ex-wife. The court said that the order of an Australian family court to give this amount to his estranged wife under ‘property settlement’ is against Indian laws. Patiala House Court Family Court Judge Devendra Kumar Garg also ordered the ex-wife not to demand Rs 16.9 crore as per the Australian Family Court order. The judge said that the order of the Australian Family Court, especially under the concept of ‘property settlement’, is against the rules of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Foreign orders will not be applicable in India – Court

The judge made it clear that the orders passed by the court abroad will not be applicable in India, because the (Australian) Family Law Act, 1975 has a provision for the process of ‘property settlement’, in which all the properties of the husband come into a ‘marital pool’ and the court also has the right to give 60 percent of the total properties to the wife both in India and abroad. In Dhawan’s case, the Australian Family Court used Section 79 of the 1975 Act, which empowers the court to pass such an order as it deems fit, which is not in accordance with the laws of India.

What did the judge say?

Court judge Devendra Kumar Garg said – “Such an order can change the interest of the parties involved in the marriage in the property. In this way, the (Australian) Family Law Act, 1975 related to property settlement is not only against the public policy of India, but is also against the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act. It is also not in accordance with the Indian law contained in the Registration Act, Transfer of Property Act and other laws.”

Shikhar Dhawan was threatened

The judge further said that the estranged wife had decided not to appear before the court and thus the case proceeded one-sidedly. He said that the Australian Family Court ordered Dhawan to give the amount received from the sale of his two properties in Australia to his wife under ‘Interim Property Settlement’, to which the cricketer never agreed. Instead, Dhawan told Judge Garg that he appeared before the Australian court only because his estranged wife threatened him that she would spread defamatory material against him, which would end his career and also affect his reputation.

The Court said – “Therefore, the appearance of the Plaintiff (Dhawan) before the court proceedings in the Australian Court cannot be said to be a voluntary submission to the jurisdiction of the Australian Court. Furthermore, the opposition to the claim was not based on grounds existing under the matrimonial law, i.e. the Indian law under which the parties were married. Moreover, it is not the case of the Defendant (Ayesha) that Dhawan consented to the relief. However, the forum has jurisdiction over the parties. It was not in accordance with the provisions of the Matrimonial Law.”

Australian court orders illegal in India

Since the estranged wife chose not to oppose the plea before the Indian Court and remained a party, the Court held that Dhawan had proved his case that the orders and judgments passed by the Australian Court, directing him to pay AU$812397/50 earned by selling the property to his ex-wife, were illegal and unenforceable in India.

The judge further held that Dhawan had proved his case by forcibly keeping AU$82,000 from the proceeds from the sale of another property there. “Plaintiff’s statements and depositions were not challenged. Thus, Plaintiff proved that as a result of Defendant’s threats, extortion, deceit and fraud, all the documents constituting the Financial Agreement (before the Australian Court) were void and not enforceable against Plaintiff,” the judge said.

Instructions to give Rs 5.72 crore

Judge Garg held that Dhawan is not bound by the orders or decisions passed by the Australian court on the petitions of his estranged wife, especially the orders asking him to pay about Rs 5.72 crore as ‘interim property settlement’ from the proceeds of sale of his two properties in Australia. The judge declared all the documents executed by Dhawan, including the financial agreements, void and not applicable to him as they were canceled by the cricketer due to threats, extortion, deception and fraud by his wife.

9% interest will have to be paid annually

The Judge ordered, “Order directing the Defendants to return to the Plaintiff a total of AU$812,397/50 (AU$150,000 and AU$662,397/50) received by it as an “Interim Property Settlement” and the AU received by the Plaintiff from the sale of Property 6 Forest Drive, Clyde North, Australia, to the Plaintiff” The return of the sum of $82,000, which he had forcibly retained, is ordered in favor of the Plaintiff and against the Defendants.” Further, the estranged wife was ordered to pay interest on the aforesaid amount at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of filing of this case till the final amount is received.

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