IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT JABALPUR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VIVEK JAIN

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ON THE 26 OF FEBRUARY, 2026 MISC. PETITION No. 1138 of 2026 SUMIT SONI Versus SHRIMATI KHUSHBOO @ RANU SONI Appearance:

Shri Vinod Kumar Tripathi - Advocate for the petitioner.

ORDER The present petition has been filed challenging the order dated

10.02.2026 passed by the Family Court, Khandwa thereby rejecting the application submitted by the petitioners for waiving of cooling off period of

6 months in terms of Section 13-B(2) of Hindu Marriage Act.

2. The petition for divorce under Section 13-B(2) of Hindu Marriage Act was filed on 13.01.2026 by mutual consent and the first motion was on that date itself, and on date of first motion, the application for waiving cooling off period was filed.

3. The Family Court has rejected the application on the ground that cooling of period is a statutory period and it is intended so that the parties can recontemplate their decision to separate from each other and for that purpose the cooling off period has been provided by the legislature so that the parties may not separate from each other by way of any decision taken in a hurry. It is also intended that if there is a possibility of reconciliation then the parties should get a sufficient cooling off time to recontemplate their decisions. 4. Learned counsel for the both parties submits before this Court that there are no chances of reconciliation between the parties and the marriage had irreparably broken down as the marriage took place on 13.04.2021 and the parties are living separately from each other since 13.06.2021. There has been no cohabitation between the parties since June 2021 and also that the entire streedhan has been paid to the wife and the parties want to part like good friends. Though there is an issue born, but that has not been born from the husband. The parties submit that the decision was taken after due deliberations and contemplations. The husband is aged 32 years and wife is aged 24 years. It is not the case that the decision has been taken in a hurry. Both are persons of matured age and after living separately for a long time, have taken this decision to part like good friends after considering all the pros and cons.

5. Upon considering the aforesaid position, making the parties wait for another 6 months would only prolong their agony and thus the Family Court ought to have waived the cooling of period. The Supreme Court in the case of Amit Kumar Vs. Sumit Beniwal 2021 SCC OnLine SC 1270 has held as under:

"19. Where there is a chance of reconciliation, however slight, the cooling period of six months from the date of filing of the divorce petition should be enforced. However, if there is no possibility of reconciliation, it would be meaningless to prolong the agony of the parties to the marriage. Thus, if the marriage has broken down irretrievably, the spouses have been living apart for a long time, but not been able to reconcile their differences and have mutually decided to part, it is better to end the marriage, to enable both the spouses to move on with the life.

27. For exercise of the discretion to waive the statutory waiting period of six months for moving the motion for divorce under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, the Court would consider the following amongst other factors:-

(i) the length of time for which the parties had been married;

(ii) how long the parties had stayed together as husband and wife;

(iii) the length of time the parties had been staying apart;

(iv) the length of time for which the litigation had been pending;

(v) whether there were any other proceedings between the parties;

(vi) whether there was any possibility of reconciliation;

(vii) whether there were any children born out of the wedlock;

(viii) whether the parties had freely, of their own accord, without any coercion or pressure, arrived at a genuine settlement which took care of alimony, if any, maintenance and custody of children, etc.

28. In this Cas