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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
(From the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh)
INDIRA BANERJEE, J. K. MAHESHWARI, JJ.
Amit Kumar - Appellant
Versus
Suman Beniwal - Respondent
Civil Appeal No.7650 of 2021 (Arising out of SLP (Civil) No.20108 of 2021
Decided on : 11-12-2021
(A) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 – Section 13B(2) – Divorce by mutual consent – Waiver of statutory cooling period – Provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act evince an inherent respect for institution of marriage, which contemplates sacramental union of a man and a woman for life – However, there may be circumstances in which it may not reasonably be possible for parties to marriage to live together as husband and wife – Hindu Marriage Act has provisions for annulment of marriage in specified circumstances – With passage of time, tempers cool down and anger dissipates – Waiting period gives spouses time to forgive and forget – If spouses have children, they may, after some time, think of consequences of divorce on their children, and reconsider their decision to separate – Even otherwise, cooling period gives couple time to ponder and reflect and take a considered decision as to whether they should really put an end to marriage for all time to come – Where there is a chance of reconciliation, however slight, cooling period of six months from date of filing of divorce petition should be enforced – However, if there is no possibility of reconciliation, it would be meaningless to prolong agony of parties to marriage – If marriage has broken down irretrievably, 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 marriage, to enable both spouses to move on with life. (Paras 14, 15, 18 and 19)
(B) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 – Section 13B(2) – Constitution of India – Article 142 – Divorce by mutual consent – Waiver of statutory cooling period – For exercise of discretion to waive statutory waiting period of six months for moving motion for divorce under Section 13B (2) of Hindu Marriage Act, Court would consider (i) length of time for which parties had been married; (ii) how long parties had stayed together as husband and wife; (iii) length of time parties had been staying apart; (iv) length of time for which litigation had been pending; (v) whether there were any other proceedings between parties; (vi) whether there was any possibility of reconciliation; (vii) whether there were any children born out of wedlock; (viii) whether 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. – In this Case, parties are both well-educated and highly placed government officers – They have been married for about 15 months – Marriage was a non-starter as parties lived together only for three days after which they have separated on account of irreconcilable differences – Parties have lived apart for entire period of their marriage except three days – It is jointly stated by parties that efforts at reconciliation have failed – Parties are unwilling to live together as husband and wife – Even after over 14 months of separation, parties still want to go ahead with divorce – No useful purpose would be served by making parties wait, except to prolong their agony – Court deems it appropriate to exercise its power under Article 142 of Constitution of India, to grant Appellant and Respondent a decree of divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, waiving statutory waiting period of six months under Section 13(B) (2) of the Act. (Paras 27 to 31)
(C) Interpretation of Judgment – A Judgment is a precedent for the issue of law that is raised and decided – A Judgment is not to be read in the manner of a statute and construed with pedantic rigidity. (Para 23)
Facts of the case:
Instant appeal is against a judgment and order dated 17th November 2021 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana dismissing Civil Revisional Application being CRA No. 2537/2021(O&M) filed by Appellant against an order dated 12th October 2021 passed by Family Court, Hissar, refusing the prayer of Appellant and Respondent, to waive the requirement under Section 13B(2) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 to make the motion for a decree of divorce after at least six months from the date of filing the petition for divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B(1) of the said Act.
Findings of Court:
There will accordingly be a decree of divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 dissolving marriage of the Appellant and the Respondent.
Result : Appeal allowed.
Key Points: - The Court waives the six-month waiting period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act in appropriate circumstances (!) (!) (!) (!) . - The Amardeep Singh factors (length of marriage, duration of separation, attempts at reconciliation, settlement terms, and necessity to avoid prolonged agony) guide the discretion to waive the waiting period (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) . - Article 142 can be invoked to grant a decree of divorce by mutual consent and to set aside the statutory waiting period in cases where irretrievable breakdown is established and waiting would prolong agony (!) (!) . - The judgment emphasizes that a prior six-month requirement under Section 13B(2) is directory, not mandatory, and should be applied flexibly based on case facts (!) (!) . - The specific case involved educated, high-profile spouses who separated shortly after marriage and pursued mutual consent divorce after over a year of separation, leading to waiver and grant of divorce (!) (!) (!) (!) .
JUDGMENT :
Indira Banerjee, J.
Leave granted.
2. This appeal is against a judgment and order dated 17th November 2021 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana dismissing the Civil Revisional Application being CRA No. 2537/2021(O&M) filed by the Appellant against an order dated 12th October 2021 passed by the Family Court, Hissar, refusing the prayer of the Appellant and the Respondent, to waive the requirement under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 to make the motion for a decree of divorce after at least six months from the date of filing the petition for divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B(1) of the said Act.
3. The Appellant and the Respondent, both of whom are educated and well placed in life (the Appellant being an IPS officer and the Respondent an IFS officer), were married according to Hindu rites on 10th September 2020. Admittedly, on account of irreconciliable differences, the Appellant and Respondent separated on 13th September 2020, that is, precisely three days after marriage.
4. On or about 30th September 2021, after over one year of separation, the Appellant and the Respondent filed a petition in the Family Court under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act for a decree of divorce by mutual consent. Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act reads as under:
(2) On the motion of both the parties made not earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in subsection (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime, the court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnised and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.”
5. In terms of Section 13B(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, the parties to a marriage might file a petition for dissolution of marriage, by decree of divorce by mutual consent, on the ground that that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, and that they have not been able to live together and have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.
6. Subsection (2) of Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act provides that the Court shall pass a decree of divorce, declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree, on the motion of both the parties, made not earlier than six months after the date of presentation of the petition referred to in subsection (1) of Section 13B, but not later than 18 months after the said date, after making necessary enquiries, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime.
7. Section 14 provides that notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in the Hindu Marriage Act, it shall not be competent to the Court to entertain any petition for dissolution of a marriage by a decree of divorce, unless on the date of presentation of the petition, one year has elapsed since the date of marriage.
8. In terms of the proviso to Section 14, the Court may, on application made to it, in accordance with such rules as may be made by the High Court, allow a petition to be presented before one year has elapsed since the date of marriage, on the ground that the case is one of exceptional hardship to the Appellant or of exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent. In this case, the pet
(1) Divorce by mutual consent – If marriage has broken down irretrievably, statutory waiting period of six months ca be waived.(2) A Judgment is a precedent for the issue of law that is raised and de....
The cooling period for divorce under Section 13-B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act is not mandatory and can be waived if there is no possibility of reconciliation between the spouses.
The cooling-off period under Section 13-B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is directory and can be waived by the court in cases where reconciliation is not possible.
The statutory waiting period under Section 13-B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act is directory and can be waived by the court if reconciliation is not possible and the parties have been separated for a si....
The waiting period under Section 13-B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act is directory, allowing courts to grant immediate divorce when the marriage is irretrievably broken.
The waiting period under Section 13-B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act is directory, allowing courts to grant divorce by mutual consent without delay when reconciliation is impossible.
The court established that the six-month waiting period under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act is directory, permitting waiver when reconciliation is not feasible.
Point of law: Mutual divorce – Waiving of six month periods - it will be open to the Court to exercise its discretion in the facts and circumstances of each case where there is no possibility of part....
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