Mumbai: Actor Celina Jaitly has moved a Mumbai court accusing her husband, Austrian businessman Peter Haag, of subjecting her to severe emotional, physical, verbal and financial abuse.
The Andheri magistrate court on Tuesday issued a notice to Haag and fixed the next hearing for December 12.
In her application filed under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, Jaitly alleges that she was forced to flee their home in Austria and return to India on October 11, leaving their three children behind.
She claims Haag has since blocked all access to the children, except for a single interaction on November 14.
Jaitly has also accused Haag of initiating divorce proceedings in Austria, where the couple’s marriage was registered in 2010. The two had earlier married according to a Hindu ceremony in Mumbai.
The actor has sought Rs 10 lakh a month in maintenance and Rs 50 crore as compensation for loss of earnings allegedly caused by years of abuse.
She has further sought orders restraining Haag from interfering with her possession of their shared Andheri flat. Her plea also demands Rs 1.26 crore for alleged losses related to the removal of properties in Mumbai and Vienna from her control, and Rs 32 lakh for alleged misappropriation of funds.
In her detailed complaint, Jaitly recounts a series of alleged incidents of cruelty from the early years of their relationship. She claims Haag demanded expensive gifts from her family before marriage. She has also alleged instances of abuse during their honeymoon in Italy, in their Mumbai residence, and around the time when she gave birth to twins in 2012.
Jaitly says Haag compelled her to move to Dubai in 2011 and later to Singapore, forcing her to abandon her acting career to support his overseas assignments.
She alleges that she endured repeated verbal and racist insults that caused deep psychological distress despite her professional accomplishments — including being Miss India 2001, a Miss Universe runner-up and a CDS exam qualifier.
The plea also accuses Haag of financial coercion, claiming he took ownership of her Indian property and sold their Vienna property in July without informing her. She further alleges he confiscated her personal belongings, including her Miss India crown.
(IANS)
