Priti Mohanty with her lawyer Pravat Panda at the family court in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 29: Two days after actress Kajal Mishra organised her marriage reception party in the city without her husband, actor Dushmant Panda, the 24-year-old journalism student, Priti Mohanty, who claims to have married the actor before Kajal, filed a petition at the family court here claiming conjugal rights.

She also filed an interim application seeking an order from the court not to recognise the marriage of Dushmant and Kajal. At the same time, Priti requested the court to pass an order to restore her married status with actor Dushmant under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955.

Priti’s advocate Pravat Panda said the court had accepted both the petition and the interim application.

“The judge of the family court has fixed December 7 for the hearing of the interim application as Priti wanted Kajal not to refer to Dushmant as her husband until the verdict was announced,” said Panda.

Priti, who had come to court with her sister, said that since she had married Dushmant who ditched her after a two-year relationship, she wanted to be declared the lawful wife of the actor.

The woman had earlier lodged complaints with Mahila police and the State Commission for Women and had staged dharnas outside the Mahila police station, in front of the actor’s house and at the gate of Kajal’s reception party objecting to Dushmant’s marriage with Kajal and demanding the actor’s arrest.

Priti said she had evidence to prove that she had married the actor and she would produce it before the court.

“I had married Dusmant on March 13 last year at Shani temple in Vani Vihar and again on April 25 at a temple in Talcher. I have the evidence to show that we had been living as husband and wife in my Dumuduma house,” said the woman.

Dushmant, against whom a case has been registered with the Mahila police, could not be traced.

Since November 25, Dushmant and his parents have left their Bomikhal house.

They even skipped Kajal’s reception on November 27 fearing arrest, though his wife said he was absent because of ill health.

The Mahila police have registered a case against the actor under sections 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), 341 (wrongful restraint), 417 (cheating), 294 (obscene acts and songs), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons) of the Indian Penal Code.

However, a relative of the actor said that the actor would soon apply for anticipatory bail in the high court.

He also said that they had evidence to show that Priti and Dushmant had never married. However, Priti said she would oppose Dusmant’s move to get anticipatory bail from the high court.