Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Section 13B(2) read with Section 14—Waiver of cooling period of six months—Object of Section 13B(2) read with Section 14 of the Hindu Marriage Act is to save the institution of marriage, by preventing hasty dissolution of marriage—It is often said that “time is the best healer”—With passage of time, tempers cool down and anger dissipates—Waiting period gives the spouses time to forgive and forget—If the spouses have children, they may, after some time, think of the consequences of divorce on their children, and reconsider their decision to separate—Even otherwise, the cooling period gives the couple time to ponder and reflect and take a considered decision as to whether they should really put an end to the marriage for all time to come—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—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.
[Paras 18 & 19]
Section 13B(2)—Waiver of cooling period of six months—Factors to be considered—For exercise of 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.
[Para 27]
Section 13B(2)—Divorce by mutual consent—Waiver of cooling period of sixing months declined by the High Court—Appeal—Parties are both well-educated and highly placed government officers and they have been married for about fifteen months—Marriage was a nonstarter—Parties lived together only for three days, after which they have separated on account of irreconcilable differences—Parties have lived apart for the entire period of their marriage except three days—Efforts at reconciliation have failed—Parties are unwilling to live together as husband and wife—Even after over 14 months of separation, the parties still want to go ahead with the divorce—No useful purpose would be served by making the parties wait, except to prolong their agony—Impugned order set aside—In exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India a decree of divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act granted by waiving the statutory period of six months—Appeal allowed.
[Para 28]
Precedent
Judgment—Judgment is a precedent for the issue of law that is raised and decided and it is not to be read in the manner of a statute and construed with pedantic rigidity.
[Para 23]