Six-month cooling period must before divorce: Bombay HC

October 24, 2014 03:28 am | Updated May 23, 2016 06:27 pm IST - MUMBAI

Even if a couple has signed mutual consent terms, there has to be a six-month waiting or cooling period before a divorce is granted, the Bombay High Court has upheld recently. It was hearing an appeal filed by a woman, seeking time to reconsider her decision of divorce.

The family court had allowed divorce to the couple within five months of signing the consent terms. The woman challenged the family court order before the Bombay High Court.

“From the analysis of the Section (13B of the Hindu Marriage Act), it will be apparent that the filing of the petition with mutual consent does not authorise the court to make a decree for divorce. There is a period of waiting from 6 to 18 months. This interregnum was obviously intended to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move and seek advice from relations and friends.

“In this transitional period one of the parties may have a second thought and change the mind not to proceed with the petition,” the Division Bench of Justices V.K. Tahilramani and A.R. Joshi observed.

The husband had sought divorce in the year 2013, on grounds of cruelty. The couple subsequently agreed for mediation, and drew mediation settlement terms on February 14, 2014. After the terms of settlement were agreed on, the husband filed an application seeking dissolving of marriage. It was granted by the family court on July 30, 2014.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.