Celina Jaitly's lawyer says her husband Peter Haag forced her to stop working, repeatedly abused her: 'She had to run to India with nothing'

Actress Celina Jaitly left fans on Tuesday when she revealed that she has divorced her husband, Peter Haag, and levelled allegations of domestic violence against him. Celina, who married Peter in 2011, has already initiated legal action, and her lawyer has now claimed that it was Peter who pushed the actress to give up her flourishing film career.

Speaking to Mid-Day, Celina’s lawyer, Niharika Karanjawala, stated that the actress was compelled to step away from the industry. According to her, Peter insisted that Celina abandon acting and move to a small Austrian town to further his professional ambitions. “He prevented her from working," Karanjawala said, also noting that Celina is seeking compensation for “unrealised potential profits” from the career she was allegedly forced to leave behind.




Celina Jaitly’s lawyer further alleged that the abuse “lasted many years spanning through their marriage,” encompassing “physical cruelty, manipulation, emotional and verbal violence.” She claimed the mistreatment continued “practically through the entirety of their marriage,” with Peter Haag reportedly erupting into violent outbursts, assaulting Celina, and issuing repeated threats.

According to the lawyer, the situation became so dire that “She practically had to escape and run to India with nothing. She wasn’t in a position to bring her children. She feared her husband might make out a case of kidnapping, which could have permanently harmed her custody case.”

In addition to the domestic violence complaint, a separate civil dispute is unfolding in Mumbai regarding a property Celina bought in 2004. Karanjawala alleged that during a vulnerable period in 2017—when Celina was mourning the loss of both her parents and one of her newborn twins—Haag pressured her into signing a “gift deed” that transferred ownership of the Mumbai property to him.

“Shortly after she executed the gift deed, he had the rental transferred to his account,” the lawyer said. She also claimed that Celina later learned Haag had sold a jointly-owned property in Vienna without her knowledge. Worried that he might also dispose of the Mumbai home, Celina confronted him. “He filed divorce proceedings shortly thereafter,” Karanjawala stated.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Republic TV, Niharika said, “There have been instances of physical violence as well. Mr. Haag losing his temper, throwing things, breaking things, being violent with Celina on a few occasions, and a lot of emotional cruelty. As I said, there is also a parallel civil proceeding for a gift deed that was obtained via coercion and manipulation. Unfortunately, in 2017, after Celina, in a short period of time, lost one child and her parents, Peter took advantage of her emotionally depressed state in order to manipulate her into parting with her property, and he shifted them to a very remote area of Austria where she didn’t speak the language well and didn’t know many people, so that it would be easier to separate and subjugate her."

Karanjawala disclosed that Celina has demanded Rs 50 crore in compensation, along with Rs 10 lakh per month as maintenance from her estranged husband.

After the news of Celina filing a domestic violence case came out, the actress posted a photo on Instagram accompanied by a heartfelt caption that opened with the hashtags courage and divorce. In her message, she wrote, “My priority remains fighting for my soldier brother, fighting for my children’s love, fighting for my dignity. A DV complaint has been filed against all the atrocities and abandonment perpetrated upon me.” She stressed that ongoing legal proceedings restrict her from making further public statements and advised that any official updates would come through her legal representatives. She concluded with an empowering note which read, “Here is to the year that will not break me. Here is to the year I rise higher than the storm. Here is to the year I reclaim everything that was taken from me."

Celina and Peter, who married in Austria, welcomed their first set of twin boys in March 2012. In 2017, they became parents to another pair of twins, though tragedy struck when one of the newborns passed away due to a hypoplastic heart condition.

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