IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5760 of 2026 FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J. C. DOSHI Sd/-

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Approved for Reporting Yes No Yes =====================================================

& ANR. Versus NA =====================================================

Appearance:

SHRIKAR H. BHATT(2573) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2 =====================================================

CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J. C. DOSHI Date : 23/04/2026

JUDGMENT

1. Being aggrieved by the orders passed below Exhibits- 15 & 16 in HMP No.1472 of 2025 filed under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as, ‘the Act’) for divorce by mutual consent, the petitioners have preferred this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

2. The brief facts of the case are as under:-

2.1 Petitioners married each other on 23.02.2024 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat in accordance with the Hindu rites, customs and rituals in presence of their family members, relatives and friends, and the marriage was registered with the Registrar of Marriage, Ahmedabad. However, due to differences, discords and influence as well as incompatibility, both the petitioners are living separately from each other since 12.03.2024 and the marital relationship is snapped since thereon.

2.2 Since the petitioners found that there is no possibility of reunion, they decided to part away from each other’s life, and therefore, jointly filed an application under Section 13B of ‘the Act’ before the Family Court, Ahmedabad seeking divorce by mutual consent. On 05.05.2025, it came to be registered as Family Suit No.1472 of 2025.

2.3 Both the petitioners have filed their affidavits in support of relief of mutual divorce claimed in the petition, thereby they have moved first motion. The petitioner No.2, namely , since lived in Australia, sworn his affidavit at the place of his residence and submitted it to the learned Family Court in order to record the consent of both the petitioners being the second motion. In the Family Suit. The petitioner No.2, with the consent of petitioner No.1 preferred an application to examine him through video conferencing at Exhibit-14. However, the learned Family Court disposed of that application permitting him to file the application in the appropriate format, as per the Schedule II of the Gujarat High Court Rules for Video Conferencing for Courts (High Court and Subordinate Courts), 2021 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules’).

2.4 The petitioner No.2, again with the consent of the petitioner No.1 following the direction issued by the Family Court, filed an application as per the Schedule II under the Exhibit-15 and prayed for permission to conduct video conference through portable device to record his consent and to complete the second motion. The learned Family Court passed the order below Exhibit-15 with rider of directions. In all, 15 directions were issued permitting the petitioner to record his consent through video conference. However, the 15 directions issued by the learned Family Court found to be inroads by the petitioner No.2, hence, he challenged the said order by this petition.

2.5 Another application was moved at Exhibit-16 requesting the Court to forward the order below Exhibit-15 to the Indian Consulate Office at Australia for fixing the date and time for video conference. That application was rejected by the Family Court observing that party can produce the certified copy of the order before the Indian Consulate and can obtain the date and time period from the Indian Consulate to join the Court with video conferencing.

2.6 Being aggrieved, both the petitioners have filed this joint petition.

3. Heard learned advocate Mr. Shrikar H. Bhatt appearing for the petitioners.

4. In a petition filed under Section 13B of ‘the Act’ for mutual divorce, no party is contesting, and therefore, no one has been arraigned as a respondent. It is in