SC issues notice to Omar Abdhulla's wife over NC leader's divorce petition

The National Conference leader had approached the apex 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 Payal Abdullah's response to the petition within six weeks.

Appearing for 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 Abdullah stating that the allegations of cruelty against Payal were vague. The court had said the former Jammu and Kashmir CM 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.

Payal, with whom Omar Abdullah separated in 2011, is daughter of retired army officer Ram Nath from Delhi.

Omar Abdullah’s sister Sara who was married to Congress leader Sachin Pilot also separated from her husband.