Delhi court grants cricketer Shikhar Dhawan divorce from wife Aesha Mukerji on ground of mental cruelty; allows visitation rights to meet son in Australia

A family court in Delhi on Wednesday granted divorce to cricketer Shikhar Dhawan and his estranged wife Aesha Mukerji. The court ruled that the cricketer - who is the petitioner - is entitled to decree of divorce on the ground of mental cruelty.

Judge Harish Kumar, while accepting the allegation of mental cruelty made by Dhawan against Mukerji, ruled that "there is no dispute that both parties had agreed to take divorce by mutual consent and that their marriage is otherwise dead long ago and have not been living as husband and wife since August 8, 2020."

Judge Kumar also ruled that Dhawan's wife had subjected him to mental agony by compelling the cricketer to live separately from his only son for years.


"Respondent's/ estranged wife intentional decision to leave this matter uncontested also shows her desire that the court should pass decree of divorce even at the cost of holding her guilty of the matrimonial offence as she knows that no harm could be caused to her even if she is held to have treated the petitioner with cruelty because she has already obtained sufficient favourable orders from the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Australia," the court said.

Although the family court did not pass any order on permanent custody of the couple's eight-year-old son, it granted visitation rights to Dhawan to meet his son for appropriate duration in India and Australia, and also to chat with him over video call.

It also ordered Mukerji to bring the child to India for visitation purpose including overnight stay with Dhawan and his family members, at least for half the period of school vacation during the academic calendar.

The 37-year-old cricketer in his plea had said that his wife had initially said she would live with him in India. However, she failed to do so owing to a commitment to her ex-husband with whom she has two daughters. The wife had committed to her ex-husband not to leave Australia where she presently lives with her two daughters and son.

Dhawan, a veteran opener, has been dropped from the Indian squad for the 2023 World Cup.