Explore possibility for settlement of marital row: Supreme Court to Karisma, hubby

The Supreme Court on Monday asked Bollywood actor Karisma Kapur and her husband Sanjay Kapur, a Delhi-based businessman, to appear before it on March 8 after exploring the possibility for settlement of the matrimonial dispute.

A bench headed by justice AK Sikri asked the couple to explore ways for settlement after their lawyers informed the court that the couple had entered into an agreement before a family court in Mumbai last year but it could not come to fruition due to some differences.

After about 15 minutes of in-chamber hearing with their lawyers, the bench allowed the couple to express if they had any differences or apprehension on the next date of hearing.

Before that, the matter was heard by the bench in the open court during which Sanjay's counsel Dr Aman Hingoorani and Priya Hingoorani informed the court that in the interest of their children, Sanjay was ready to give maintenance. Submitting a copy of the terms of agreement, prepared in May last year, Hingoorani said Sanjay was ready to give Rs1.2 crore annually towards their maintenance, study and other expenses.

His counsel also contended that Karisma did not have trust on the proposal given by her husband. It was also alleged that she has not allow her children to meet their father for past three months.

However, appearing for Karisma, senior advocates Mahesh Jethmalani and Sandeep Kapoor told the court that Sanjay did not agree to pay the money directly but through the interest generated out of several bonds which his company has. Jethmalani alleged that Sanjay himself had violated the terms of settlement.

The couple got married in 2003 and they have two kids, daughter Samaira and son Kiaan. The couple filed for divorce by mutual consent and have been going through a legal battle for the past couple of years.

In the meantime, the Delhi police has filed the status report in response to Sanjay's allegation that he has been getting threat calls from gangster Ravi Pujari for filing the divorce plea. Sanjay also pleaded with the apex court to transfer his case to some other court outside Mumbai.

The Delhi police, in their report, passed the buck to the Gurgaon police, saying calls were received by Sanjay's personal secretary at their office in Gurgaon, Harayana. However, the Delhi police have informed that security around Sanjay's Kautalya Marg residence in Delhi would be beefed up.

According to the report, Sanjay's private secretary had received calls on their office landline number from 00447440190035 on January 18 and from 0040335217612 on January 22. It said these calls were from UK and Romania, respectively. Maintaining that the calls were not recorded, the report said only the Haryana police has the jurisdiction to probe the matter.

"It is important to mention here that Ravi Pujari is a gangster of Mumbai based abroad, who keeps on extending threatening calls to Indian personalities of different fields. Letters have been written to commissioner of police, Gurgaon, Haryana, and to commissioner of Mumbai police for necessary action and... security to Sanjay Kapur…," the report said.

In December last, Sanjay had filed a fresh divorce plea in which he alleged that his wife Karisma had married him for his money. He also accused her of not being a good mother and daughter-in-law in the family.