Omar Abdullah and Payal.
The Supreme Court has directed former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his wife Payal Abdullah to appear for mediation at the Supreme Court Mediation Centre. Omar Abdullah filed the petition arguing that he and his wife have been living separately for the past 15 years and that their marriage has completely broken down. Both Omar Abdullah and Payal Abdullah got married in the year 1994. They have not lived together since 2009. He has two sons.
Umar Abdullah first filed a case in the Family High Court on the basis of cruelty. However, on August 30, 2016, the family court rejected his divorce petition as he could not prove that his marriage had completely broken down.
Omar Abdullah appealed to the Delhi High Court against the family court’s order, but in December 2023, a division bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan and Justice Sanjiv Sachdeva upheld the family court’s order.
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Instructions to appear at Mediation Centre
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah directed that both parties may appear before the Supreme Court’s Mediation Center for mediation to reach a settlement.
Earlier, senior counsel Kapil Sibal, counsel for Omar Abdullah, said that the two parties have not lived with each other for 15 years. They remain separate.
The court sought an answer
Last time, the court had issued a notice on Omar Abdullah’s application and sought a reply from Payal Abdullah. Appearing for Payal Abdullah, senior advocate Shyam Diwan told the court that mediation should be attempted at least once.
On this, Omar Abdullah’s lawyer Kapil Sibal said that he can go for mediation, but this is for settlement. Not to compromise, but eventually he agrees to mediate
He said that after the Supreme Court’s decision it was not necessary to completely abolish the status of marriage breakdown, but still he agreed to mediate.
