6 months waiting period for Divorce is no longer Mandtory!

Yes, you have heard it right. The 6 months period which is also known as the ‘cooling-off period’ is not required anymore for getting a divorce. Before we get to how the 6 months waiting period can be waived off for getting a divorce, let us understand the basics of divorce in India.

Divorce and its types in India:-

Divorce is a process of dissolution of marriage in a legal procedure. In order to get a divorce, a divorce petition is filed in a court of law. Once a decree or judgment has been passed by the court in favor of the divorce petition, the marriage of the spouses terminates. The process of divorce or dissolution of marriage varies in different religions. Divorce in India can be categorized into-

Contested divorce- 

Contested divorces are divorces where both the parties are not in agreement with each other on issues such as the amount of alimony or custody of children.

Section 13 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955-

Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 states the grounds to file contested divorce which includes cruelty, conversion of religion, unsound mind, or where either of the spouses is unheard for more than 7 years.

Divorce by mutual consent-

When both the spouses agree mutually to get separated, can file a mutual divorce petition in the court of law. In this case, no such allegations are put forth against the other spouse.

The waiving of 6 months cooling period is applicable in case of mutual divorces as contested divorces take time.

Mutual Consent Divorce:-

As I have mentioned earlier, in mutual divorce, both the husband as well as the wife are willing to part ways without going through the tedious court procedures, and have an option to file for divorce under this type of divorce. Following are some of the essential requirements for filing a mutual divorce petition.

Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act states that-

1. The parties to the marriage must have been living separately for at least a year.
2. The parties to the marriage have not been able to live together.
3. The parties have unanimously agreed to terminate the marriage.

However, another provision under the Hindu Marriage Act states that a divorce petition cannot be filed earlier than 6 months. This is the cooling period given to the spouses before finalizing their divorce. However, this waiting and rethinking period is not mandatory.

No waiting for 6 months to get Divorce:

In this section finally, we are about to get to know how and under what circumstances the cooling period of 6 months can be waived off, and then you can get a divorce early. With the help of a couple of cases let us understand the waiving of 6 months cooling period.

Section 14 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides that the Court can allow a petition to be presented before it, even though 1 year has not elapsed since the date of marriage. The Court shall allow such a petition on the ground that the case for which an application for divorce has been made before completion of 1 year is one of exceptional hardship and it is not reasonably possible for the husband and wife to live together

1. Enough efforts have been made for reuniting the spouses through mediation and conciliation. However, no sign of reconciliation was found;
2. Settlement issues such as alimony, custody of the child, or any other pending issues have been settled by the spouses;
3. The waiting period will only extend their misery.

In Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur in 2017, issues such as alimony, custody as well as maintenance were already settled among them. Thus, it was held by the Supreme Court that delaying the decree for divorce will make situations worse, so the cooling period of 6 months for divorce was waived off and the divorce was finalized at that instance.

The Court, in Soni Kumari v. Deepak Kumar, 2016, exercised its power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India for doing complete justice to the parties to the marriage and granted a decree for mutual divorce. The cooling period of 6 months was waived in this case and the wife received full compensation of Rs 15 lakhs according to claims of settlement decided between the husband and wife.

Conclusion:

Marriages in Hindu law are considered sacrosanct. And it takes a lot of effort to maintain the sanctity of the institution of marriage. Often misunderstandings and lack of communication are created which can be resolved with proper communication or even counseling. However, when this sanctity of marriage is shaken and it becomes tough for the husband and wife to maintain their marital relationship, dissolution of marriage is often opted by the spouses.

Mutual consent divorce is a kind of divorce where couples can look to resolve their disputes with peace and move on with their lives. It does not degrade the relationship. And it has been held by the Supreme Court that the cooling period of 6 months can be waived off provided the conditions for it have been fulfilled.

This decision of the Court has been highly praised because the couple no longer has to go through the agony or delay which often mentally breaks down an individual.

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