MUMBAI, India — Actor Celina Jaitly has filed a petition in a Mumbai court accusing her husband, Austrian businessman Peter Haag, of severe emotional, physical, verbal and financial abuse. The Andheri magistrate court issued a notice to Haag on Tuesday and set the next hearing for December 12.
Jaitly filed her application under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. She claims she fled the couple’s home in Austria on October 11 and returned to India, leaving their three children behind. She alleges Haag has since denied her access to the children, allowing only one interaction on November 14.
The actor says Haag has also initiated divorce proceedings in Austria, where their marriage was registered in 2010. The couple were first married in a Hindu ceremony in Mumbai.
Jaitly is seeking Rs 10 lakh per month in maintenance and Rs 50 crore in compensation for what she says were career setbacks resulting from years of abuse. She has asked the court to restrain Haag from interfering with her possession of their shared apartment in Andheri.
She is also seeking Rs 1.26 crore for alleged losses tied to the removal of properties in Mumbai and Vienna from her control, along with Rs 32 lakh for what she claims was misappropriation of funds.
In her detailed complaint, Jaitly describes multiple alleged instances of cruelty dating back to the early years of the relationship. She claims Haag demanded costly gifts from her family before the marriage, and cites alleged abuse during their honeymoon in Italy, at their home in Mumbai, and during her pregnancy in 2012 when she gave birth to twins.
She says Haag pressured her to relocate to Dubai in 2011 and later to Singapore, forcing her to give up her acting career to accompany him.
Jaitly alleges she faced repeated verbal and racist insults despite her professional achievements, which include winning Miss India in 2001 and placing as a runner-up at Miss Universe.
The petition accuses Haag of financial coercion as well, alleging he took over her Indian property, sold their Vienna home without informing her in July, and confiscated personal items, including her Miss India crown. (Source: IANS)
