Mutual-consent divorce cooling-off period held directory where settlement is genuine and further delay serves no purpose.

The six-month cooling-off period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act for the second motion in mutual-consent divorce proceedings is directory, not mandatory. Read in context, the provision is meant to encourage reflection and possible reconciliation, not to prolong a marriage that has effectively ended. The court may waive the waiting period where the parties have lived separately for a substantial time, all efforts at mediation and conciliation have failed, the settlement is genuine and complete, and further delay would only increase hardship. In such circumstances, the procedural requirement may yield to the legislative purpose already achieved.

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Issues: Whether the six-month period prescribed under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for the second motion in a mutual-consent divorce petition is mandatory or directory, and whether it can be waived in exceptional cases.

Analysis: The statutory scheme of Section 13B shows that the first motion requires one year of separation and mutual consent, while the second motion after six months serves as a cooling-off period to permit reflection and reconciliation. The object of the provision is not to perpetuate a dead marriage, but to avoid a hurried dissolution where reconciliation remains possible. Applying the settled approach that statutory language must be read in context, with regard to the subject matter and purpose of the enactment, the Court held that the provision is procedural and that discretion may be exercised where the parties have already lived separately for a substantial period, all efforts at mediation and conciliation have failed, the settlement is genuine and complete, and the waiting period would only prolong hardship.

Conclusion: The six-month period under Section 13B(2) is directory, not mandatory, and the concerned court may waive it in appropriate cases satisfying the indicated conditions.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory cooling-off period in mutual-consent divorce proceedings is directory where the legislative purpose is already fulfilled and further waiting would only defeat genuine settlement and prolong the parties' suffering.

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