The Bombay High Court has granted former Miss World Yukta Mookhey’s request for mediation to resolve the marital dispute between her and her estranged husband Prince Tuli, who has rejected her terms for dissolution of the marriage.  The couple have been apart since May, when Mookhey filed a report against her husband accusing him and his family of harassing her and her husband specifically of “unnatural sex,” which is grounds for a divorce in India.  In response to Mookhey’s request, the Bombay High Court has appointed a mediator between the couple.  Senior advocate Rajiv Patil will seek to negotiate an amicable split for the couple.

Mookhey’s criminal complaints against her husband and his family were filed in May under Sections 498A, 406 of the Indian Penal Code.  These sections deal with “cruelty” and “criminal breach of trust”.  She also invoked Section 377, which covers “unnatural sex” and claimed she had been compelled into acts by her husband.  She named not only her husband but also his parents and sisters as well.  She has accused Tuli of domestic violence as well.

Mookhey was crowned Miss World in 1999 and married Tuli in 2008.  They have one son together and the son is expected to be a major subject of the mediation process.  It is expected that Prince Tuli will require dropping all criminal charges in exchange for his agreement, but it is unclear whether Mookhey will agree to this requirement, which may leave the mediation at a stand-still.  If the mediation fails, the High Court will take up the divorce as a litigation, but has clearly demonstrated its reluctance to do so up to this point, and would clearly prefer an “amicable” agreement for this high-profile situation.