Mrunal Manmay Dash

In a major development concerning the marital discord between actor turned politician Anubhav Mohanty and his (actor) wife Varsha Priyadarshini, the Orissa High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea filed by Mohanty to fast track his divorce petition.

Instead, the Court directed Mohanty’s lawyer to make an application in a lower or family court for the same if he wished so.

Sujata Jena, Varsha Priyadarshini’s counsel said, “Anubhav Mohanty had placed a request to complete the hearings of the divorce petition within a stipulated period, which the court rejected today.”

She said, “The plea was earlier quashed by the Supreme Court. So the High Court did not see any ground to entertain it now. There are a lot of similar cases pending before the Court. So it does not make sense to fast track a particular case,” Sujata said quoting the Court’s observation.

It is pertinent to mention here that Anubhav had accused Varsha of intentionally holding up the Court’s proceedings by refusing to show up before the mediation centre despite receiving formal notices.

Varsha's lawyer, on the other hand, had accused Anubhav of not following the due process of law.

It may be recalled that in the 47-page divorce petition filed in Delhi’s Patiala House court the BJD MP from Kendrapara had alleged that his wife was not allowing sexual relations and natural conjugal life, later Varsha Priyadarshini Moves SC Seeking Transfer Of Anubhav Mohanty's Divorce Petition To Cuttack Court.

Following the filing of the divorce petition, there has been a barrage of domestic violence cases and counter cases filed by the troubled couple against each other.

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