The Allahabad High Court, in a decision delivered by a Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Brij Raj Singh , held that the statutory one-year waiting period for filing a mutual divorce petition under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, can be waived in cases involving exceptional hardship to the petitioner or exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent. The Court set aside the Family Court’s refusal and permitted early filing of the mutual divorce petition.
Background
The appeal before the High Court challenged the order dated 27 March 2025 passed by the Principal Judge, Family Court, Ambedkar Nagar, which had rejected an application under Section 14 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Family Court had declined to invoke the proviso to Section 14(1), holding that a divorce petition under Section 13-B could only be entertained after a year from the date of marriage.
After their marriage in August 2024, the couple encountered irreconcilable differences and initiated criminal complaints against each other. Mediation efforts failed, and both parties filed for divorce by mutual consent along with an application seeking exemption from the one-year waiting period under Section 14(1).
Legal Arguments
Counsel for the appellant argued that Section 13-B is expressly subject to other provisions of the Act, including Section 14 and its proviso, which permits early filing of a divorce petition in cases of exceptional hardship or depravity. Several High Court decisions supporting such waivers were cited, including:
- Pooja Gupta v. NIL (Delhi High Court)
- Sweety EM v. Sural Kumar K.B., AIR 2008 Karnataka 1
- Gijoosh Gopi v. Shruti S., 2012 SCC OnLine Ker 31780
- Shivani Yadav v. Amit Yadav (Punjab & Haryana High Court)
- Manish Sirohi v. Smt. Meenakshi, 2007 SCC OnLine All 513
Counsel for the respondent agreed, urging the Court to allow the early divorce filing in light of mutual desire to end the marriage.
Court’s Analysis
The Court examined the legal framework and relevant precedents, noting that the proviso to Section 14(1) serves as a narrow but valid exception to the standard one-year waiting rule. The Bench observed:
“Once an application under Section 14(1) of the Act, 1955 is filed before the court, certainly the court has to see whether there is exceptional hardship to the petitioner or exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent.”
Noting the history of criminal proceedings and lack of reconciliation between the parties, the Court concluded that the conditions for invoking the proviso were clearly met. It stated:
“When both the parties are voluntarily inclined to withdraw relationship and do not want to continue with the relationship at all and they also want to enjoy their life by parting their ways… continuance of the litigation will cause mental and physical harassment to them unnecessarily.”
Decision
Finding that the case involved exceptional hardship, the Court allowed the appeal, quashed the Family Court’s order, and permitted the mutual divorce petition to be treated as filed on 26 March 2025. This allows the parties to proceed with the second motion under Section 13-B(2) of the Act after six months from that date. The appeal was allowed without any order as to costs.
Case No.: First Appeal Defective No. 115 of 2025
Counsel for Appellant :- Maria Fatima,Gaurav Mehrotra,Nadeem Murtaza, Shhreiya Agarawal
Counsel for Respondent :- Prateek Yadav
