Chhhattisgarh High Court: Dispute Between Husband And Wife Not A Prerequisite For Grant Of Divorce By Mutual Consent Under Hindu Marriage Act

Name of the Case

Sandhya Sen v. Sanjay Sen

Background Facts

• The couple were married in February 2017 after which they stayed two days together.
• They filed a joint application for divorce after a year of their marriage to which they were given a 6-months cooling off period.
• They still decided to take divorce after the cooling off period but the Trial Court refused to pass a decree of mutual divorce rather gave a decree of judicial separation for a year.

Provisions Involved

• Section 13-A of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 lays down that alternative relief should be granted when an application for divorce is filed except if the grounds for divorce are covered under clauses (ii), (vi) and (vii) of Section 13 of the Act considering the circumstances of the case and pass a decree of judicial separation.
• Section 13-B of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 constitutes the provision for divorce by mutual consent that states that a year of separation and 6 months of cooling period to be fulfilled so as to obtain a decree of divorce by mutual consent.

Observation by the Court

• The Court held that the provision referred to by the Trial Court to pass the decree states for a decision based on the circumstances of the case.
• The Court gave the decree assuming that in the short span that they’d been together, there could not have been a serious dispute but it is not necessary to have a dispute when applying for mutual divorce.
• It is not on the court to find reasons that led to the decision of the parties to seek divorce when the application is properly presented before the court.
• The High Court set aside the decree passed by the Trial Court and granted divorce by mutual consent to the couple.

What do you think of the provision of divorce by mutual consent? Let us know in the section below!