Statutory separation and cooling-off periods under the Special Marriage Act may be waived in cases of exceptional hardship.

In brief

The question

1. Whether the statutory one-year period for presenting a divorce petition under Section 29 of the Special Marriage Act can be waived in cases of "exceptional hardship"

The court held

The High Court allowed the appeal and set aside the Family Court’s judgment dated 15.10.2025. The Court answered the issues in the affirmative, holding that the statutory one-year period under Section 29 of the SMA is waivable in exceptional circumstances

It also directed

The application for waiver was allowed, the divorce petition under Section 28(1) was revived, and the matter was remanded to the Family Court for expedited disposal without insisting on the one-year separation period. The Court further directed the Family Court to consider waiving the six-month cooling-off period

01Facts

The appellant and respondent, followers of different faiths, solemnized their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (SMA) on 25.08.2025

p. 2

Following the marriage, the appellant’s father suffered a severe health crisis (liver failure) upon learning of the union, and the family severed ties

p. 2

the respondent hid the marriage from her family to avoid similar disownment

p. 2

The marriage was never consummated, and no cohabitation occurred

p. 2

The parties filed a petition for divorce by mutual consent along with an application to waive the one-year mandatory waiting period under Section 29 and the six-month cooling-off period under Section 28(2) of the Act

p. 2

The Family Court dismissed the application on 15.10.2025, ruling that the case did not disclose "exceptional hardship"

p. 3

02Issues

i.1. Whether the statutory one-year period for presenting a divorce petition under Section 29 of the Special Marriage Act can be waived in cases of "exceptional hardship"

pp. 4 / para. 10-11

ii.2. Whether the specific circumstances of familial estrangement and lack of consummation in this case constitute "exceptional hardship"

p. 7 / para. 16

03Law Applied

The Court applied Section 29 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which restricts divorce petitions within the first year of marriage unless "exceptional hardship" to the petitioner or "exceptional depravity" by the respondent is shown

p. 4

Section 28 of the SMA regarding the six-month cooling-off period

p. 4

Sections 28 and 29 of the SMA are pari materia to Sections 13B and 14 of the HMA

p. 6

Full Bench decision in Shiksha Kumari v. Santosh Kumar (2025), which established that the one-year separation period can be waived if the court is satisfied of exceptional hardship

pp. 5-6

Supreme Court precedents in Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017) and Amit Kumar v. Suman Beniwal (2021), which held that statutory waiting periods are directory, not mandatory, when continuation of the marriage serves no purpose

p. 3, 9

Provisions in the judgment · 4 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Special Marriage Act, 1954 Section 28 Section 29

Family Courts Act, 1984 Section 19

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 Section 14

04Reasoning

The High Court found that the Family Court adopted a "hyper-technical" and "restrictive" approach by insisting on efforts toward cohabitation for a marriage that was "unworkable from inception"

p. 3, 7

The Court reasoned that since the marriage was purely notional—lacking cohabitation, consummation, or social recognition—enforcing the statutory waiting period would only prolong the parties' agony

p. 7

The Court determined that the appellant’s familial displacement, his father’s medical crisis, and the respondent’s fear of similar consequences collectively met the threshold of "exceptional hardship"

p. 7

judicial discretion must be exercised to waive timelines when the legislative intent of stability is outweighed by unavoidable mental and social distress

p. 8