The Delhi High Court has granted a divorce to celebrity chef Kunal Kapoor, citing the cruelty he endured from his wife. The couple, who had been living separately for a long time, saw their marriage come to a legal end on Tuesday when the court acknowledged the wife’s conduct towards the famous chef as devoid of dignity and compassion. This verdict comes after the family court had previously dismissed the petition, a decision that was later challenged in the High Court.
In delivering relief, the High Court stated that it is well established in law that public, careless, insulting, and baseless accusations against a spouse constitute cruelty. “In light of the facts presented in the current case, we find that the defendant (wife)’s conduct towards the appellant (husband) has been such that it lacked dignity and compassion towards him,” the court observed.
The High Court further elaborated that while a woman cannot be expected to perform all household duties, when she undertakes these responsibilities out of her free will, it is out of love for her family, and such dedication is priceless.
Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna, presiding over the bench, expressed, “When one spouse behaves in such a manner towards the other, it demeans the essence of marriage and there is no justifiable reason to compel them to endure the agony of living together.”
The Arguments from Kunal Kapoor and His Wife
Kunal Kapoor, known for his role as a judge on the television show ‘MasterChef’, married in April 2008, and the couple welcomed a son in 2012. In his petition, Kapoor accused his wife of never respecting his parents and subjecting them to humiliation. In response, the wife dismissed the allegations as false and misleading, claiming she always tried to communicate with her husband as a loving spouse and remained loyal to him. However, she accused him of keeping her in the dark and fabricating stories to seek a divorce.
