Supreme Court to grant Omar Abdullah divorce after marriage dispute settled

The Supreme Court was informed on Friday that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has resolved his divorce dispute with his estranged wife, Payal Abdullah, through mediation.

A Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe disposed of the appeal after Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Omar Abdullah, informed the Court that all disputes between the parties had been amicably resolved.

"Both of them have embraced freedom. It's all settled. Lordships may grant divorce. All other matters will be withdrawn," submitted Sibal.

Responding to the submission, the Bench observed,

"That's good. We will dispose it of on those terms."

Omar and Payal got married in September 1994, but have been living separately for a long time. Omar's divorce plea was first rejected by a family court on August 30, 2016. The family court had held that he failed to prove that his marriage had irretrievably broken down. It also said the politician could not prove his claims of "cruelty" or "desertion" and that he was not able to explain a single circumstance that made it impossible for him to continue the relationship with Payal.

Omar had then moved the Delhi High Court. However, the High Court also rejected the divorce plea, which prompted the politician to approach the Supreme Court for relief.

He had sought the Court's intervention under Article 142 of the Constitution, which empowers the top court to pass any order necessary for doing complete justice in a matter. This provision has been invoked by the Supreme Court in the past to dissolve marriages that were beyond repair (irretrievably broken down marriages).

In August 2024, the Supreme Court had referred the matter to mediation after both sides agreed to explore an amicable settlement. The Court had then deferred the hearing to await the mediator's report.

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