The Bombay High Court has granted Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and his estranged wife, Dhanashree Verma, an exemption from the mandatory six-month cooling-off period under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act. This decision allows their divorce proceedings to move forward without delay.
Justice Madhav Jamdar, presiding as a single-judge bench, also directed the family court to expedite its decision on their divorce petition, considering Yuzvendra Chahal’s commitments in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). The court emphasized the urgency of the matter, instructing the family court to reach a conclusion by the next day.
“As petitioner 1 (Chahal) is a participant in the IPL, learned counsel informs that he may not be available from March 21. The learned judge of the family court is requested to decide the petition by tomorrow,” the court noted in its statement.
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Yuzvendra Chahal, who plays as a spinner for Kings XI Punjab, is set to join his team ahead of the league’s commencement on March 22. The High Court’s decision took into account that Chahal and Verma had been living separately for over two and a half years and had followed the consent terms agreed upon during mediation, including the alimony settlement.
#BreakingNews: Bombay HC speeds up #YuzvendraChahal and #DhanashreeVerma‘s divorce procedure due to IPL, waives off six-month cooling period
Chahal agrees to pay Rs 4.75 Cr as alimony@shwetaa_verma shares more details | @pareektweets pic.twitter.com/seS0xoAdji
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) March 19, 2025
According to Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, a family court can consider a mutual divorce petition only after six months of its filing, allowing time for possible reconciliation. However, a 2017 Supreme Court ruling established that this period could be waived if there was no chance of a settlement.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Verma, who married in December 2020 and separated in June 2022, filed a joint divorce petition on February 5, 2024, along with a request to waive the cooling-off period. However, the family court initially rejected their plea, citing incomplete compliance with the consent terms, particularly regarding Chahal’s payment of ₹2.37 crore out of the ₹4.75 crore alimony.
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Following this, the couple approached the High Court, which ruled in their favour, stating that the consent terms had been sufficiently met, as the remaining alimony was due only after the divorce decree. The court overturned the family court’s February 20 ruling, allowing Chahal and Verma to legally separate without further delays.
