Dushmant Panda and Priti Mohanty

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 15: Actor Dushmant Panda today lodged a petition with a family court here opposing the pleas filed by model and journalism student Priti Mohanty, who had alleged that the actor had ditched her to marry actress Kajal Mishra. Priti had also said Dushmant had been in a live-in relationship with her for more than two years.

Dushmant and Kajal tied the knot last November ignoring protests staged by Priti at the wedding venue.

According to the procedures of the family court, Dushmant and Priti had to undergo a counselling session with the assistance of a male and a female counsellor who asked them various questions about their earlier relationship and urged them to settle the matter amicably.

Dushmant’s advocate Subhranshu Das said he filed an objection petition in reply to the petition and interim application filed by Priti earlier.

“The court set March 27 for the settling the matter. But ‘settling the matter’ is not possible as my client had never married her,” said Das.

However, Priti said she was not in favour of “settling the matter” outside the court. “I want to be declared Dushmant’s wife, as he had married me at two different temples in Bhubaneswar and Dhenkanal before marrying Kajal last year,” said the model.

Priti had filed petitions before the family court on November 29 last year, seeking conjugal rights with the actor and dismissal of the marriage between him and Kajal. The court accepted her petitions on December 7.

Priti’s counsel Pravat Panda said his counterpart filed a petition opposing his client’s earlier petitions.

“They submitted a 20-point petition. We have sufficient evidence to prove the charges brought by my client,” said Panda, adding that he would file another petition in the court on his client’s behalf seeking maintenance from the actor.