Omar Abdullah Divorce: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah wants to divorce his wife Payal Abdullah. After not getting relief from the Family Court and Delhi High Court, he has now knocked the door of the Supreme Court. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Omar Abdullah, has demanded the court’s intervention under Article 142 of the Constitution.
On Omar Abdullah’s petition, a bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah has issued a notice to his wife Payal Abdullah and sought a reply within six weeks. Now Payal will have to present her side in the court. Then the court will decide after hearing both the sides. The next hearing has been scheduled for August 30.
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Omar Abdullah Divorce Drama: Now first know the entire dispute between the husband and wife
Omar Abdullah and Payal had a love marriage on 1 September 1994. After completing his studies, Omar was a marketing executive in a hotel in Delhi. Payal also worked there. It was here that they met and fell in love. After some time, they got married. Everything was fine for 17 years, then one day there was news of a dispute between the two.
According to reports, the two have been living separately from each other since 2009. They have two sons named Zahir and Zameer. The couple shares joint custody of their sons. In 2011, Umar announced his separation from Payal.
There is a buzz that Omar Abdullah wants to marry again, but he cannot do so without divorcing his first wife. Payal, on the other hand, is not ready to give him divorce.
Omar Abdullah Divorce: When did the case reach the court and what happened?
Omar Abdullah first appealed to the family court accusing Payal of cruelty. On 30 August 2016, the lower court rejected Abdullah’s petition seeking divorce. The lower court said that Omar Abdullah could not prove the allegation of cruelty against Payal nor could he prove his claims of abandoning her alone.
The lower court had said on Omar Abdullah’s petition, ‘We do not find any truth in the allegation of cruelty. Therefore, this appeal is dismissed.’Â
Omar Abdullah approached the Delhi High Court against the decision of the family court. But here too he got a setback. In December 2023, the High Court rejected his petition. A bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vikas Mahajan upheld the order of the lower court. The High Court said that Omar Abdullah’s appeal has no merit. The allegations of cruelty are vague and unacceptable. The appellant failed to prove any act, physical or mental, with him, which could be called cruel. Along with this, the Delhi High Court also directed to give Rs 1.5 lakh per month as maintenance to the wife and Rs 60,000 per month for the education of the son.
Omar Abdullah Divorce: What did Abdullah argue in the Supreme Court?
Now Omar Abdullah has moved the Supreme Court against the decision of the Delhi High Court. He told the apex court that both of them have been living separately for 15 years. There is no relationship between them like husband and wife. This relationship has ended and cannot be improved now.
Kapil Sibal has sought the dissolution of this marriage from the Supreme Court under the power mentioned in Article 142 of the Constitution. This rule gives the Supreme Court the right to pass any order necessary to do complete justice in any case.
Power of Supreme Court: Article 142
Article 142 says that the Supreme Court has a lot of power. It can implement its decision in any corner of the country. If the court feels that ‘complete justice’ is not being done in a case, then it can give any decision. It is the responsibility of the Parliament to implement this decision in the entire country. But if the Parliament has not made such a law, then the President will decide how the decision will be implemented.
The second thing is that the Supreme Court can call anyone to the court, ask them questions or ask for necessary documents. If someone does not obey the court, it can even punish him. The Supreme Court has full authority to do all this.
Supreme Court’s decisions under Article 142
In the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court has been given a special power, this is called Article 142. Under this, the Supreme Court has the right to give such an order in any case which it deems right, so that complete justice can be done. It is because of this law that a big task like cleaning the Taj Mahal was done and many innocent people were also freed from jail.Â
The Supreme Court made the biggest use of this special power in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case. Many people lost their lives in this tragedy and thousands were injured. In 1991, the Supreme Court ruled that the company that caused this tragedy would have to pay $470 million as compensation to the victims.
In the last few years, the Supreme Court has given many such decisions. Actually, in our country, all the three branches – legislature, executive and judiciary – have their own responsibilities. But now the Supreme Court has often crossed its limits and started doing the work which earlier used to be the work of the government only.
Like imposing restrictions on liquor shops. The government had ordered the closure of liquor shops only on the side of the national highway. But the Supreme Court, using its special powers (Article 142), got the liquor shops closed up to 500 metres from the highway. Not only this, it imposed this restriction on the state highways as well, considering it necessary, without the state governments asking for it.
How does the Supreme Court use its power?
Article 142 gives the Supreme Court a lot of power, but the Supreme Court itself has decided how it will use this power. In a case, the Supreme Court has said that whatever decision it takes should not be against the fundamental rights of the country. That is, the court cannot take any decision that affects the rights of the people. This means that even though the Supreme Court has a lot of power, it can work only within the limits of the law.Â
In 1998, the Supreme Court itself said that the power it has received due to Article 142 is not stronger than other laws. The Supreme Court cannot give any new verdict by breaking the law. The Supreme Court has also said that it cannot harm anyone in any case, even if he is not a part of that case. That is, if a case is between two people, then the court will not drag a third person into it.
Criticism of Supreme Court on special power
Many people believe that the power given to the Supreme Court by Article 142 is too much and can be misused. Because it is not clearly written in this law what ‘complete justice’ means. In every case, the meaning of ‘complete justice’ can be different. Therefore, the Supreme Court itself will have to take care that it uses this power properly.
The biggest criticism of this power of the Supreme Court is that no one can be held accountable for its decisions. Just as the government and the legislature have to be accountable for their actions, the Supreme Court is not. Often some people say that the Supreme Court should only implement the law, not make new laws.
