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Issues: Whether the requirement under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 that the parties must have lived separately for one year before presenting a petition for divorce by mutual consent is unconstitutional, arbitrary, or liable to be treated as merely directory.
Analysis: Section 13B was introduced by the 1976 amendment as a limited and structured avenue for dissolution of marriage by mutual consent. The provision uses clear language and sets out conditions precedent to the Court's jurisdiction to entertain such a petition, including one year's separation immediately preceding presentation. The object of the provision is to liberalise divorce law while still preserving a reasonable cooling-off period so that the parties may reconsider their decision and attempt reconciliation. The classification is based on a rational nexus with the statutory object and does not offend the guarantee of equality. The Court declined to rewrite the provision by reading in a discretionary power to waive the period, as that would amount to judicial legislation and would defeat the legislative scheme.
Conclusion: The one-year separation requirement under Section 13B is mandatory, constitutionally valid, and not open to waiver by judicial interpretation; the challenge to its validity fails.
Ratio Decidendi: Where the language of a matrimonial statute is clear and the condition is enacted as a jurisdictional prerequisite to grant of divorce by mutual consent, the Court must give effect to it and cannot convert it into a directory requirement on grounds of hardship or perceived social expediency.
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