Putting an end to the long and bitter legal battle, the Orissa High Court on Thursday granted divorce to MP Anubhav Mohanty from his actress wife Varsha Priyadarshini.
While allowing the couple to part ways, the HC overturned the ruling of the Cuttack family court that had earlier rejected the divorce petition of the couple.
Ollywood actor and BJD MP Anubhav Mohanty earlier moved the Orissa High Court challenging the decision of Cuttack Family Court which had rejected his divorce petition against his wife and film actress Varsha Priyadarshini.
The family court quashed the divorce petition last month after the couple could not prove their allegations and counter allegations.
Speaking to the media about the issues, advocate of MP Anubhanv Mohanty said that the final hearing of the divorce case was held on Thursday in the High Court. “The final hearing of the case was held by a division bench comprising Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra. The bench heard arguments from both sides – Anubhav and Varsha. The main ground or grievance of the issue was the non-consummation of the marriage. We had taken up the matter with the family court on this ground, but the court rejected it,” he said.
Anubhav’s advocate also added that his client under Paragraph-80 admitted that he had no consummation of the marriage with Varsha. “The High Court weighed the evidence of both sides but accepted the grounds of non-consummation as cited by Anubhav. The court examined the order of the judge of the family court rejecting the divorce case and announced that the case deserves divorcee,” he noted.
Anubhav- Varsha's Allegations & Counter-Allegations In Courts
It may be noted here that Anubhav had initially filed the divorce petition at a Delhi-based court in July 2020 citing non-consummation of his marriage with the actress. The case was transferred to the family court in Cuttack following the direction of the Supreme Court in March 2021. The family court also rejected the petition of Anubhav.
The court held that Mohanty had failed to establish that his wife refused consummation of their marriage and caused mental cruelty to the petitioner by her conduct towards him and his family members.
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As per the decision of the Court, the petitioner has failed to substantiate his pleadings as he is not entitled to get a decree of divorce in his favour in the interest of social justice. The court also said though Varsha claimed restitution of conjugal rights, she made unsubstantiated allegations against Anubhav.
Challenging the ruling of the family court, the actor-turned-politician filed a fresh petition with the Orissa High Court seeking divorce from his wife Varsha. The petition has been filed under section 19 (1) of the Family Courts Act.