Delhi HC grants divorce to chef Kunal Kapur on ground of cruelty

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court granted divorce to celebrity chef Kunal Kapur on Tuesday on the ground of cruelty meted out to him by his estranged wife, saying the woman's conduct towards him was devoid of dignity and empathy.

The high court allowed Kapur's appeal challenging a family court's order denying him divorce and said it is a settled position of law that making reckless, defamatory, humiliating and unsubstantiated allegations against a spouse in public amounts to cruelty.

"In the light of the aforenoted facts of the present case, we find that 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 to live while enduring the agony of living together," a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said.

The estranged couple got married in April 2008 and a son was born to them in 2012.

In his plea, Kapur, who was a judge in television show "Master Chef", accused his wife of never respecting his parents and humiliating him.

On the other hand, the woman accused him of making false allegations to mislead the court and said she always tried to communicate with her husband like a loving spouse and was loyal towards him.

However, he kept her in the dark and concocted fabricated stories to obtain divorce, she had alleged.

The court said though discords are an inevitable part of every marriage, when such conflicts take the form of disrespect and inconsideration towards a spouse, the marriage itself loses its sanctity.

"It is relevant to mention here that within two years of marriage, the appellant has established himself as a celebrity chef, which is a reflection of his hard work and determination....

"Considering the aforesaid facts, it is only prudent to observe that these are mere allegations made by the respondent to disrepute the appellant in the eyes of the court and such unsubstantiated claims have the effect on one's reputation and therefore, amounts to cruelty," the bench said.