New Delhi: A Delhi family court has directed the former wife of Shikhar Dhawan, Ayesha Mukherjee, to refund about Rs 5.7 crore after ruling that the financial settlement of a foreign court could not be enforced in Indian law.
The Court found that the interim property settlement acquired by Mukherjee in an Australian family court in February 2024 was on the basis of legal concepts which are “alien to Indian matrimonial law” and cannot be enforced in India.
Under Australian law, the foreign court had previously divided the assets of the couple located worldwide, comprising property and money, and ordered Dhawan to pay funds equivalent to approximately AU $812,397.50 ( approximately 5.7 crore) and an extra AU 82,000 ( approximately 52.58 lakhs) of the sales proceeds of Australian properties. Nevertheless, the court in Delhi declared that the Australian order, which functions on the principle of “property settlement,” completely unheard of in Indian law, cannot be enforced in India.
Judge Devender Kumar Garg also agreed with the argument by Dhawan that the financial agreements he had signed were done through threats, extortion, and trickery, and made their verdict void. The court ordered Mukherjee to return the 5.7 crore plus 9 per cent interest per annum from the time of suit filing until full recovery.
In 2012, Dhawan married Mukherjee, and they have a son, Zoravar. After many years of marital problems and property and custody disputes, they divorced legally in 2023. Part of their conflict involved Australian properties and competing court orders in other jurisdictions. The recent Delhi court decision voids the Australian settlement in India and puts Dhawan back in legal standing in his homeland.
The development comes after Dhawan remarried Sophie Shine earlier this month, making his personal and legal lives the centre of attention.
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