Arjun Rampal and Mehr Jesia, who tied the knot 21 years ago, have been granted divorce by a Bandra court on Tuesday. Principal judge Shailaja Sawant granted the couple divorce under the Special Marriage Act, nearly six months after they had approached the court to dissolve their marriage, by consent, on April 30, 2019. While the exact terms of the divorce are yet to be known, the couple’s two daughters, Mahikaa and Myra, will live with their mother at their duplex in Bandra.
Interfaith marriages are registered under the Special Marriage Act, and any plea for divorce by mutual consent requires the couple to reside separately for a year before they approach the court. “After a petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, their plea is scrutinised, registered and then, the couple is referred to a marriage counsellor to attempt a reconciliation. If that fails, the couple is given six more months to work things out. Six months later, if they are resolute in their decision to part ways and have complied with the terms of divorce mutually agreed to between them, a court draws up a decree of divorce,” an official from Bandra family court told a leading daily.
The two were rumoured to be getting separated in 2011 itself but it was only on May 28, 2018, that the couple announced their official separation. Arjun has even moved on with his life and has been dating South African model Gabriella Demetriades with whom he also has a baby boy named Arik who is around four months old now. When contacted for a comment, he said, “Why would I want to talk about it? Why is it anyone’s business? I don’t want to talk about it.” Mehr, on the other hand, did not respond at all.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)