The Delhi High Court has rejected the petition filed by former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, challenging a family court’s decision that denied him a divorce from his wife, Payal Abdullah.
Omar Abdullah had filed a plea seeking divorce in 2013 on the grounds of cruelty, which was dismissed by Delhi’s Patiala House Court on August 30, 2016. The couple, who married in September 1994, has been living separately since 2009 and shares two sons.
A division bench comprising Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan upheld the family court’s ruling and dismissed Omar Abdullah’s appeal contesting it. In its verdict, the bench affirmed that it found no flaws in the family court’s decision to deny divorce.
The High Court highlighted that Omar Abdullah’s accusations of cruelty against Payal Abdullah lacked specificity and failed to substantiate any instances of cruelty, whether physical or mental, by his wife.
Consequently, the court concluded that the appellant couldn’t establish any grounds warranting divorce and dismissed the appeal, deeming it devoid of merit. The family court had initially rejected Omar Abdullah’s petition, citing a lack of evidence to substantiate claims of cruelty or desertion.