Waiver of the Section 13B(2) cooling period must be reconsidered under governing Supreme Court principles.

The parties jointly petitioned for divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Family Court fixed the matter for a date after the six-month cooling-off period and dismissed the petitioner’s application to waive that period.

The petitioner challenged that order under Article 227, relying on a prior High Court order concerning waiver of the cooling-off period.

The Court noted that the parties had been living separately since 2018.

Whether the Family Court’s refusal to waive the six-month cooling-off period required reconsideration in light of the governing Supreme Court decisions and the High Court’s prior order.

Whether the High Court should itself waive the period or remand the waiver application to the Family Court for fresh consideration.

Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for a six-month waiting period in proceedings for divorce by mutual consent. Under Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur, that period is directory, and the court may waive it after considering, among other matters, efforts at mediation or conciliation, genuine settlement of the parties’ differences, and whether waiting would prolong their agony.

Amit Kumar v. Suman Beniwal clarifies that the relevant factors are illustrative rather than exhaustive and that, where the stated conditions are fulfilled, the court should exercise its discretion to waive the period.

The High Court also relied on its order dated 4 August 2026 in M.P. No. 4144 of 2026, which directed reconsideration of a waiver application in light of these authorities.

The Court considered the issue covered by its earlier order in M.P. No. 4144 of 2026 and concluded that the Family Court’s decision appeared to rest on the earlier legal position without considering subsequent decisions on waiver of the cooling-off period.

Noting that the parties had been separated since 2018, the Court set aside the impugned order but did not itself grant the waiver; it remitted the application to the Family Court for reconsideration under the cited precedents.

The waiver application was remanded to the Family Court for fresh decision in light of the judgments identified in the prior High Court order, preferably within 15 days of receipt of a certified copy of the High Court’s order. The petition was disposed of accordingly.