The Delhi High Court, on Thursday, dismissed the plea filed by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeking a divorce from his estranged wife Payal Abdullah.

Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan, comprising the Division Bench, upheld the family court's decision to reject Abdullah's plea, maintaining the previous ruling.

The High Court affirmed the family court's decision, stating that there were no flaws in its order. It concurred with the family court's assessment, highlighting the vagueness of Omar Abdullah's allegations regarding cruelty against Payal Abdullah.

The Division Bench stated, "We agree with the family court's perspective that the allegations of cruelty lacked substance and clarity. The appellant was unable to substantiate any action, whether physical or mental, as constituting cruelty. Therefore, we see no basis for the appeal and dismiss it accordingly."

Omar and Payal Abdullah tied the knot in September 1994 but have since been residing separately for an extended period. Abdullah's request for divorce was turned down by a family court on August 30, 2016. The court ruled that he did not provide sufficient evidence to establish the "irretrievable breakdown of the marriage."

The family court had emphasized that Abdullah failed to substantiate his allegations of "cruelty" or "desertion." Additionally, he was not able to explain a single circumstance that rendered it unfeasible for him to sustain the relationship with Payal Abdullah.

Abdullah asserted that his marriage had irretrievably broken down, citing that despite their union in September 1994, he and Payal Abdullah have resided separately since 2009.

In September 2016, Abdullah contested the trial court's ruling before the Delhi High Court.

Recently, the High Court increased the amount of maintenance that Omar Abdullah had been mandated to pay to Payal Abdullah.

Under the direction of Justice Subramonium Prasad, the National Conference leader was instructed to provide ₹1.5 lakh monthly as maintenance to Payal, and ₹60,000 per month to each of his two sons during their enrollment in law school. Initially, in the Section 125 proceedings of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the trial court had granted interim maintenance of ₹75,000 per month to Payal Abdullah and ₹25,000 per month to their son until he reached the age of 18.