NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected the plea moved by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeking divorce from his estranged wife Payal Abdullah, saying there was no infirmity in the earlier judgment of the family court.
“...we find no infirmity with the view taken by the family court that the allegations of cruelty were vague and unacceptable and the appellant failed to prove any act which can be termed cruelty either physical or mental. Consequently, we find no merit in the appeal, the same is accordingly dismissed,” a bench of justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan noted in the order.
The former J&K chief minister was approaching the high court with his appeal against the family court’s August 2016 order which dismissed his divorce petition. Abdullah pleaded their marriage had irretrievably broken down and wanted to get re-married.
As per his plea, the couple got married in 1994 but has not been in a conjugal relationship since 2007. In September 2023, the high court directed Abdullah to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to Payal monthly as interim maintenance and Rs 60,000 each for the education of their two sons every month.
The petition before the trial court also alleged that Abdullah was subjected to "unreasonable conduct" by Payal, causing pain and harassment to the politician.
In August this year, a single judge bench of the Delhi High Court had directed Abdullah to pay Rs 1.5 lakh as monthly interim maintenance to his estranged wife.
He was also asked to pay Rs 60,000 each on a monthly basis for the education of his two sons who are pursuing law.
The high court's order had come on petitions by Payal Abdullah and the couple's sons against 2018 lower court orders granting her and them interim maintenance of Rs 75,000 and Rs 25,000 till they attained the age of majority, respectively.
The judge had observed that Abdullah has the financial capacity to provide a "decent standard of living to his wife and children" and that he should not abdicate his duties as a father.
