Cooling-off period for mutual consent divorce is directory; waiver may be granted where reconciliation is impossible and hardship would continue.

The six-month cooling-off period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act is directory, not mandatory, and may be waived where reconciliation is unlikely and further delay would only prolong hardship. The earlier ruling in Amardeep Singh is treated as setting illustrative factors for waiver, not an inflexible requirement that the full waiting period must always run. On the facts, the brief marriage, long separation, failed reconciliation efforts, and complete breakdown in practical terms justified waiver of the period and dissolution of the marriage by mutual consent, including through Article 142 powers to do complete justice.

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Issues: (i) Whether the six-month waiting period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is mandatory or directory and can be waived on the facts of the case. (ii) Whether, on the facts found, the parties were entitled to a decree of divorce by mutual consent.

Issue (i): Whether the six-month waiting period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is mandatory or directory and can be waived on the facts of the case.

Analysis: The statutory scheme permits a petition for mutual consent divorce after one year of separation, followed by a motion not earlier than six months from presentation of the petition. The cooling-off period is intended to preserve the institution of marriage and to allow reconciliation, but the requirement is not rigid where the marriage has effectively broken down and further waiting would serve no purpose. The earlier decision in Amardeep Singh was clarified as laying down illustrative factors, not an inflexible condition that a full one and a half years must elapse before the second motion. The court may waive the period where there is no possibility of reunion, the parties have genuinely settled their differences, and the waiting period would only prolong their agony.

Conclusion: The six-month period under Section 13B(2) is directory and may be waived in appropriate cases; the contrary view taken by the Family Court and the High Court was incorrect.

Issue (ii): Whether, on the facts found, the parties were entitled to a decree of divorce by mutual consent.

Analysis: The parties had been married only briefly, had lived together for three days, had been living separately thereafter, and had unsuccessfully attempted reconciliation. The marriage had broken down irretrievably in practical terms, and continued waiting would only prolong hardship. In such circumstances, the exercise of power under Article 142 was justified to do complete justice and to permit dissolution of the marriage by mutual consent.

Conclusion: The parties were entitled to a decree of divorce by mutual consent, and the waiting period was waived.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the impugned orders were set aside, and the marriage was dissolved by mutual consent on waiver of the statutory waiting period.

Ratio Decidendi: The waiting period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is directory, and where reconciliation is not possible and further delay would only prolong hardship, the court may waive the period and grant mutual consent divorce, including by exercising Article 142 powers where appropriate.

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