The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted a divorce to celebrity chef Kunal Kapur on the grounds of “cruelty” meted out to him by his estranged wife, saying that her conduct towards him was “devoid of dignity and empathy”.
While granting the divorce, the court remarked that making “reckless, defamatory, humiliating and unsubstantiated” allegations against a spouse in public amounts to cruelty.
The woman, in her written submission, made allegations of infidelity against Mr. Kapur, which allegedly started after he became famous.
The court, however, noted that “she failed to depose any specific instance, showing that she was only insinuating”.
“Nor did she provide any proof apart from photographs which are based on her presumption of illicit affairs as admitted by her in her cross-examination,” the court added.
The court also noted that the estranged couple, who got married in April 2008, had been living apart since May 2015, with the custody of their son, born in 2012, lying with the wife. It noted that even after the separation, Mr. Kapur had been providing monetary support for the education and well-being of their son, as well as for maintaining their household.
“On perusal of WhatsApp messages exchanged between the parties, it can be observed that the appellant [Mr Kapur] has not been allowed to meet or talk to his son,” the court said.
“Despite his repeated requests seeking an opportunity to meet his son, the respondent [wife] has evaded it one pretext or the other while simultaneously demanding payments from him,” the high court said.
‘Endured humiliation’
In his plea challenging a 2018 family court order declining his divorce petition, Mr. Kapur, who is well-known for being a judge in television show ‘MasterChef India’, accused his wife of not respecting his parents and humiliating him.
While setting aside the family court’s order, the High Court said, “The conduct of the respondent [wife] towards the appellant [husband] has been such that it is devoid of dignity and empathy towards him”.
“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 endure the agony of living together,” it added.
