NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Odisha government and Varsha Priyadarshini, and sought their detailed responses after hearing a petition filed by the latter’s former actor husband Anubhav Mohanty, to quash the criminal proceedings initiated against him and his family in a matrimonial dispute case.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Sandeep Mehta and also comprising Justice Vijay Bishnoi issued notice on a special leave petition (SLP) challenging a May 2026 judgement of the Orissa High Court which had declined to discharge him from the case.
It is to be noted that Anubhav and Varsha, both popular figures in the Odia film industry, had married in 2014. A Delhi family court granted them divorce in December 2023. Several other civil and criminal cases between the former couple remain pending in courts.
Appearing for Anubhav, senior counsel contended that the first information report (FIR) lodged by Varsha in 2022 was retaliatory and filed after Anubhav instituted divorce proceedings in 2020.
It was argued that the allegations of cruelty under section 498A (dowry harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation) along with section 34 (common intention to commit crime) of IPC and section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, were general and lacked specific details. The counsel said the HC failed to see that the criminal case was being used to harass Anubhav and his aged parents.
Varsha’s complaint was registered at Purighat police station, Cuttack, naming Anubhav and his family members as accused.
The Orissa HC had earlier refused to quash the FIR, observing that the veracity of allegations could only be tested during trial and not at the preliminary stage. Following this, Anubhav moved the apex court for relief.
Taking note of the submissions, the apex court issued notice and listed the matter for hearing after four weeks. “Issue notice, returnable in four weeks,” the bench ordered.
The Orissa HC, in 2023, granted Anubhav a decree of divorce from Varsha. It ruled that a wife’s unilateral, unjustified refusal to consummate the marriage causes mental cruelty, allowing the celebrity couple to part ways after a highly publicised and bitter legal battle.
