HC stays order asking Sami to give flat, money to ex-wife

In an interim relief to Pakistani singer Adnan Sami, the Bombay High Court has stayed a family court order which had asked him to pay Rs 6.24 crore compensation to his former wife Sabah Galadari and also give her duplex flat in Andheri occupied by him and his present wife Roya Farabi.
Hearing an appeal filed by the singer against the family court order of April 5, a division bench of justices V K Tahilramani and Anil Menon, however, asked Sami to deposit a portion of compensation amount till the matter is decided.
The High Court had last week allowed Sami and his present wife to reside in the 5000 square feet duplex flat in Andheri and also restrained Galadari from creating third party rights in the flat, in view of a gift deed executed in her name by Sami.

Sami had argued in his appeal that that the family court order was "erroneous, illegal, ultra vires and contrary to the settled principles of law and unsustainable".
The singer's lawyers Navroz Seervai and Ranbir Singh submitted that the Enforcement Directorate had sealed the flat on the ground that he had not obtained permission from Reserve Bank of India to buy property in India.
They argued that the family court did not take into account the legal effect of an ED order which held that Sami had no legal title and no legal authority to gift the flat.

In April, the family court had directed Sami to vacate the apartment and hand over its possession to Galadari, a UAE national, within two months. Sami was also asked to pay Rs 6.5 crore, including Rs one crore as compensation for domestic violence as alleged by Galadari.

She had claimed that the duplex flat was gifted to her by Sami. However, the singer has denied the allegations.
In May, a High Court bench had protected Sami from vacating his spacious five-flats-merged-in-one duplex apartment on the 13th and 14th floors of Oberoi Garden complex in suburban Andheri.
Sami said in his appeal, "The mere fact that Galadari is used to an extremely high standard of living and is of high status does not by itself justify imposition of such heavy compensation."
Sami had purchased the duplex flat in Oberoi Sky garden in Andheri. He had later gifted it to Galadari. However, after they separated, Sami refused to hand over the flat and is residing there with his third wife Roya Farabi.

Sami and Galadari have been in an on-off marriage in the past. They married in 2001 and got divorced in 2004. And again re-married in 2007 and got divorced in 2012.