Omar Abdullah's Wife Gets Supreme Court Notice Over Leader's Divorce Plea

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's estranged wife Payal Abdullah over a divorce petition filed by him.

The National Conference leader had approached the top court against a Delhi High Court decision to reject his plea seeking divorce from his wife on the grounds of cruelty.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah have sought Ms Abdullah's response on the petition within six weeks.

Appearing for Mr Abdullah, senior Advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that the couple's marriage was "dead" as they have been living separately for the past 15 years. He requested the top court's intervention under Article 142 of the Constitution, which has been invoked in the past to dissolve marriages.

In 2023, a bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan upheld a 2016 family court order which had also refused to grant divorce to Mr Abdullah stating that the allegations of cruelty against Payal Abdullah were vague. The court had said Mr Abdullah could not prove his claims of "cruelty" or "desertion".

In its order, the High Court had said that it did not find any flaw in the order of the family court and agreed with its decision. 

"We find no infirmity in the view taken by the family court that the allegations of cruelty were vague and unacceptable, that the appellant failed to prove any act which could be termed as an act of cruelty, be it physical or mental, towards him," the order had said.

Omar and Payal Abdullah were married on September 1, 1994 and have been living separately since 2009. They share the custody of their two sons. 

Earlier, the High Court had also directed the National Conference to pay Rs 1.5 lakh per month as maintenance to his wife in addition to 60,000 per month each to his two sons.