Lok Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty entitled to divorce, rules Orissa High Court
CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Thursday invalidated the order in which the Family Court, Cuttack had rejected BJD’s Kendrapara Lok Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty’s divorce petition.
The division bench of Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice Sibo Shankar Mishra ruled that Anubhav was entitled to get a decree of divorce in his favour under section 13(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The marriage between the actor-turned-politician and Varsha Priyadarshini, a popular actress, was solemnised on February 8, 2014. Anubhav had sought divorce from his wife on grounds of cruelty under section 13(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 while claiming that the marriage between the two had not been consummated. He had moved the high court after the family court rejected his divorce plea.
On September 22, 2023, the Family Court, Cuttack, had held that Anubhav had failed to establish that Varsha refused and avoided consummation of their marriage and caused mental cruelty to the petitioner by her conduct towards him and his family members. Anubhav’s counsel Lalitendu Mishra said, “The division bench expressed satisfaction that ample evidence is there to suggest that there was no consummation of the marriage.”
Section 13(1)(a) of the Act says, “Any marriage solemnised, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party has, after the solemnisation of the marriage, treated the petitioner with cruelty.”
Initially, Anubhav had filed the divorce petition before a family court in New Delhi. Later acting on Varsha’s petition, the Supreme Court transferred the divorce case to Cuttack on March 5, 2021. The Supreme Court directed both to appear before the Family Court, Cuttack, on April 5, 2021 for expeditious disposal of the petition. Accordingly, the Family Court here had registered the case under section 13 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 after Anubhav and Varsha appeared before it on the assigned date.