How Britain’s ‘longest divorce’ battle ended with an Indian-origin woman winning Rs 85 crore

It's seemingly one of the UK's most remarkable divorce battles.

Like other divorce cases, it began as a routine case in May 2002; however, it spiralled into a two-decade-long fight. After years of courtroom drama, Varsha Gohil, 61, a mother of three, was finally awarded £6.6 million (around Rs 84.84 crore) in a settlement.

Varsha filed for divorce from her husband, Bhadresh Gohil, in May 2002, citing adultery and unreasonable behaviour. When the pair ended their marriage, Varsha was 37, and they had three children.

Both reached what seemed to be a straightforward financial settlement, in which Varsha accepted £270,000 (around Rs 3.5 crore) and the family's Peugeot car, the Sun reported.

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However, she was never fully convinced that her husband had disclosed all his assets to her. Under UK law, both husband and wife must provide a complete account of their assets and income when a divorce financial settlement is being decided.

It was then that the actual divorce battle began.

We take a closer look at the case.

Varsha's attempt to overturn the original divorce

In 2007, Varsha returned to court. She sought to overturn the original agreement, citing evidence she gathered of her husband's deception. She told the court, while presenting the evidence, that she believed that Bhadresh had concealed part of his fortune from her.

In 2011, Bhadresh was convicted of money laundering and forgery, and the case took a dramatic turn. Following a lengthy investigation, the 61-year-old, who was then a solicitor, was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment the same year.

The criminal proceedings unearthed assets worth tens of millions of pounds that had not been disclosed in the original divorce agreement.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) froze £28 million (around Rs 360.06 crore) in assets allegedly concealed by Bhadresh worldwide, according to investigators.

With CPS seizing assets hidden by Bhadresh, the legal battle then shifted to a dispute over whether the assets should be considered part of the couple's marital wealth. The feud escalated until it reached the UK's top court.

Varsha moved to the UK Supreme Court

As she moved to the Supreme Court, judges looked into her case alongside another woman named Alison Sharland, who had made similar allegations that her ex-husband hid the extent of his wealth during divorce proceedings.

In a major victory, judges permitted both women to reopen their financial settlements and pursue new claims.

However, the financial dispute was far from over.

CPS faced challenges in tracing and recovering Bhadresh’s assets, which delayed the High Court hearing until 2023.

During the hearing, Bhadresh argued that the frozen assets were not his and could therefore not be included in any divorce award. Varsha argued back, saying that these frozen fortunes belonged to her husband during their marriage and should be taken into account when dividing the couple's assets.

However, CPS stated that Bhadresh has amassed the fortune from the proceeds of crime and that it should be subject to criminal proceedings for recovery and not passed on to Varsha.

The court awarded Varsha £6.6 million

The judge, Justice Williams, ruled that the assets belonged to Bhadresh. Justice Williams also noted that CPS failed to provide sufficient evidence that the entire £28 million (around Rs 360.06 crore) originated from the proceeds of crime.

He pointed out that some of the assets came from legitimate businesses that existed during their marriage. Therefore, the judge then awarded Varsha £6.6 million (around Rs 84.84 crore) in assets.

Justice Williams came down heavily on Bhadresh and called him “pervasively dishonest."

"His account of being a hard-working, family-oriented and impecunious man who has been ill-used by others and subject to a terrible injustice by the state and by the wife is so very far from the truth that it is hard to comprehend how he can put it forward," the judge blasted Bhadresh, as quoted by the Sun. 

The court's ruling in favour of Varsha brought one of Britain's longest-running divorce disputes to an end. Last month, the UK Court of Appeal ruled that there would be no further appeals in the case, closing a legal battle that lasted over two decades.

With inputs from agencies