The Delhi High Court in its judgment dated April 2, 2024, granted divorce to celebrity chef Kunal Kapur on grounds of cruelty by wife.
A Family Court in Delhi had earlier refused to grant divorce to Kapur, post which he appealed that order in the High Court.
Case:
Parties got married in April 2008 and a son was born to them in February 2012.
45-year-old husband in this case is a renowned Indian celebrity chef, who has hosted and judged multiples seasons of Masterchef India. The respondent wife on the other hand holds a Master’s Degree in Arts.
The couple had met through a matrimonial website and according to the husband he had set a pre-condition that the wife will stay in a joint family along with his parents, which was agreed by both parties.
After undergoing harassment for many years, the husband moved out from his home and filed for divorce. The couple had been living separately since 2015.
Allegations by Husband
Some of the allegations levelled by the husband were initial demands by wife of upgrading from a small hatchback Maruti Zen to buying a luxury car. This is at a time when the husband was struggling to make his career along with meeting household expenses for the family.
The husband alleged that he was constantly taunted by his wife for not being able to provide her with a luxurious life, eventhough, she was fully aware of his financial status prior to the marriage. The taunts and humiliation were not just in private, but also extended in front of his friends, by calling him a man of limited means, who could not afford a big house.
The husband also informed court that, in a fit of rage, the wife would throw crockery and other household articles at him and even his parents.
In April 2010, the wife unilaterally quit her job without consulting her husband, and informed him that it was his duty to maintain her. After quitting her job, she would sit idle all day in isolation and even ask the maid to cook separate food for her. The husband shared that he did his best to take her out for numerous holidays in India and abroad, however, she would spoil every trip with her sour behaviour.
According to the husband, his career took off in July, 2010, when he was selected for the Television Show ‘Master Chef’, but the wife could not handle his fame and picked up fights on menial reasons. Kapur added that she was a constant source of humiliation and public embarrassment to him, who called the police not only at the matrimonial home but also barged into Yash Raj Studios when he was shooting for ‘Master Chef’ in Mumbai.
When the couple was expecting their first child through 2011, the wife allegedly faked threats by pretending to make call to the police against husband and his family and later mocked them saying that she was trying to set him straight.
Even after the birth of their son in 2012, the wife did not change her behaviour. She would dial 100 and summon police cooking up false stories against the husband and his family.
To save his parents from further harassment, Kapur had also rented a separated 3BHK home in Gurugram. However, when the wife persisted with her erratic behaviour, the husband filed for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.
Defense by Wife
The wife in her defense informed court that all allegations levelled by the husband were baseless and misleading in collusion with his parents. She accused him and her in-laws of creating drama to force her commit suicide or get rid of her by giving divorce.
According to her, she quit her job since her in-laws were unhappy with her job hours.
The wife has also accused the husband of dowry demands right from choosing a fancy wedding venue, to buying home furniture and appliances, and also bringing in finances from her father, for an apartment that the couple booked in Gurugram.
With regards to dialling police, the wife justified her actions citing provocation by husband and in-laws.
The wife had also levelled charges of infidelity and unreasonable sexual demands by Kapur.
Trial Court, Delhi
In 2018, the learned Trial Court refused to grant divorce to the husband, since he had failed to bring the acts of the respondent-wife within the ambit of Cruelty.
This order was challenged by Kapur in Delhi High Court.
Delhi High Court
The bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna heard the parties and concluded that the wife’s conduct definitely fell under the ambit of cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The bench said,
When such is the nature of one spouse towards the other, it brings disgrace to the very essence of marriage and there exists no possible reason as to why he should be compelled to live while enduring the agony of living together.
The High Court bench was of the opinion that the wife made baseless allegations and displayed a lack of empathy and dignity towards him, and that constitutes cruelty.
Calling out the wife’s random allegations of infidelity by husband, the Court observed that she couldn’t provide specific instances or evidence beyond photographs based on her presumptions of Kapur’s illicit affairs. To this, the High Court said:
Such baseless arguments when made about a person who is regularly in the public eye, have long-lasting effects on his reputation and tarnishes his image amongst his peers. Therefore, such an act amounts to cruelty.
The husband had placed a recorded video in the court, where his wife could be seen shouting and growling at him without even bothering that their infant child was crying. To this the Court said:
Screaming high and using filthy language, even if not directly abusing the spouse, is too harsh to expect for the spouse at the receiving end to accept it.
Lastly, analysing why no official complaint was filed by the wife despite dialling the PCR, the High Court observed:
Had there actually been any grievance against the appellant or his family, she might have not sent the police back (calling it their family matter). This shows that she had remorse to her conduct and by then understood that she will not be able to prove against her misbehaviour.
Concluding that the family court ‘gravely erred’ in rejecting the divorce plea, the Delhi High Court dissolved the marriage on grounds of cruelty by wife.
Voice For Men India Take:
- India does not legally recognise Domestic Abuse / Domestic Violence / Mental, Physical, Sexual Cruelty against husbands
- The only recourse a man has from a bad abusive marriage is civil grounds for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act
- Grounds for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act are fault based, which means, unless parties are able to prove instances of abuse that happened in four corners of the home, divorce cannot be granted on mere separation, even if the parties have been living apart for years/decades
- Proving instances of verbal and mental abuse are almost impossible, particularly for the men, since the husbands are still perceived as the stronger or perpetrator sex
- In Kapur’s case, it took 9-years for getting a divorce decree, however, this too can be challenged by the wife in the Supreme Court
- Contested divorce cases are only means to serve ego of the contesting spouse and lawyers from both sides
- By the time justice is served, a man has lost out on his prime years and the divorce decree is almost meaningless
DO WATCH:
Chef Kunal Kapur Divorce | Delhi High Court Judgment | Cruelty By Wife Proven | Voice For Men India
ALSO WATCH:
Irretrievable Breakdown In Marriage | Supreme Court Judgment | Amish Aggarwala | Voice For Men India
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Read Chef #KunalKapur Divorce Judgment | Delhi High Court Grants Divorce To Husband On Grounds Of Cruelty
— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) April 3, 2024
▪️What were the allegations by husband?
▪️What was the defense by wife?
▪️What did Delhi High Court say?#VoiceForMen https://t.co/qdQjv39JGl
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