Odisha court issues notice to BJD MP Anubhav Mohanty in domestic violence case

An Odisha court on Monday issued a notice to BJD MP Anubhav Mohanty, asking him to file his response to the domestic violence suit filed by his actor wife Varsha Priyadarshini.

The Cuttack Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court issued the notice to the actor-turned-politician after taking into cognisance the Domestic Incident Report (DIR) submitted by the district protection officer, sources said.

The SDJM court asked the Kendrapara MP to file his response in an affidavit within a month and fixed November 12 for the next hearing of the case.

Priyadarshini had filed the domestic violence case against her husband under several sections of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, accusing Mohanty of physical and mental torture and violence, including financial treachery.

She had also filed another case in the district family court here last month under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, in which she, as an aggrieved party, sought a decree of restitution of conjugal rights. The case is likely to come up for adjudication soon, her counsel Ram Krushna Rath said.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear this week a transfer petition filed by Priyadarshini seeking transfer of the divorce case filed by her husband in a Delhi court to her hometown Cuttack, sources said.

After receiving a notice from the Patiala House court in Delhi in connection with Mohanty's divorce suit, Priyadarshini had moved the apex court seeking transfer of the divorce case from Delhi to her Cuttack.