Omar Abdullah’s petition seeking divorce from wife Payal Abdullah dismissed by Delhi high court

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea moved by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeking divorce from his estranged wife Payal Abdullah.
A division bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vikas Mahajan rejected the petition moved by Omar Abdullah challenging a family court order passed on August 30, 2016, dismissing his plea for divorce.
Omar Abdullah and Payal Abdullah got married on September 01, 1994. They have been living separately since the year 2009. They have two sons.
Refusing to grant divorce to Omar Abdullah, the bench said that it finds no infirmity in the family court order which refused to grant him divorce.
The court agreed with the family court order that the allegations of cruelty by Omar Abdullah against Payal Abdullah were vague. The bench said that Omar Abdullah failed to prove any act of cruelty, whether physical or mental, by Payal Abdullah.
“We find no merit in the appeal. The same is dismissed,” the bench said.
It was Omar Abdullah’s case that his marriage with Payal Abdullab had “irretrievably broken down”. He also sought divorce on the ground of cruelty and desertion by herz
The family court had refused to grant him divorce, observing that he failed to prove irretrievable breakdown of his marriage with Payal Abdullah.
The family court had also said that Omar Abdullah could not prove his claims of cruelty or desertion, which were also the grounds alleged by him for grant of decree of divorce.
Omar Abdullah claimed that his marriage had broken down irretrievably and that he had not enjoyed conjugal relationship since the year 2007.
In September, a single judge had directed Omar Abdullah to pay interim maintenance of Rs. 1,50,000 per month to Payal Abdullah and also increased the amount of interim maintenance from Rs. 75,000 which was directed by the family court in April 2018.
The single judge did so in light of Omar Abdullah’s financial capacity to provide a decent standard of living to Payal Abdullah and their two sons and the standard of living enjoyed by him previously.
The court had also directed Omar Abdullah to pay Rs. 60,000 per month to both sons for their education, even though they are majors and not entitled to any maintenance as per law.