HC allows cricketer Maninder Singh's estranged wife to stay at his mother's house till Sep

The Delhi High Court allowed today the estranged wife of former Indian cricketer Maninder Singh to stay till September first week at his mother's house, which she was to vacate by now in terms of a settlement arrived between them to end their 16-year-long marital dispute.

The order by Justice Siddharth Mridul came on Singh's plea seeking contempt action against his estranged wife for not vacating his mother's house according to the settlement order of May 24 this year.

As per the May 24 order, Singh had to pay Rs 2 lakh to his estranged wife within two days and Rs 98 lakh was to be deposited in the court within a month.

She in turn had agreed to vacate Singh's mother's house within two months of deposition of the amount, which she would be eligible to withdraw, after leaving that house.

Singh's lawyers claimed before the judge that he had deposited Rs 98 lakh in court on May 29, but his estranged wife, Melly, had not vacated the house yet.

Her lawyers told the court that she could not find any other suitable accommodation and that is why she had not moved out. She undertook to vacate the premises by the first week of September this year.

Subsequently, the court allowed her to reside at the premises till the first week of September and listed the matter on September 7, when she has to show that she has complied with the settlement order.

The cricketer and his estranged wife had on May 24 amicably settled their 16-year-long marital row with him agreeing to pay her an amount of Rs 1.75 crore.

The settlement order had come after she had agreed not to proceed further with her appeal against a family court's August 2014 decision granting divorce to Singh on the ground of cruelty.

The former cricketer had moved the family court in 2002, seeking divorce from his wife, whom he married in 1990, on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. They have a daughter and a son.

Singh's estranged wife, Melly Singh, had challenged the decision claiming that the trial court order was based on incorrect appreciation of some SMSes exchanged between them.

Apart from the Rs 2 lakh he paid to Melly within two days of the order and the Rs 98 lakh he deposited in the court, he had also agreed to pay her Rs 50 lakh within seven months from May 24 and an additional Rs 25 lakh after another five months.

He also undertook to transfer in her name, within three months, a Santro car which is in her possession.