No Waiting 6 months: Supreme Court On Divorce!

The Supreme Court of India has recently passed a new order on divorce settlements, lifting the six-month waiting period for mutual consent divorces. The Constitution Bench consisting of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, AS Oka, Vikram Nath, and JK Maheshwari stated that the mandatory waiting period of six months can be removed, and that the court has the power to dissolve a marriage on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage under Article 142 of the Constitution, which grants the court extraordinary powers to do complete justice in any matter pending before it.

Under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, there is a waiting period of six to eighteen months for divorce by mutual consent. In 2014, a couple approached the court to grant them an immediate divorce using special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution. The couple was granted a divorce, but the court had questions about whether it could directly grant divorce under Article 142 without referring the parties to a family court.

After prolonged arguments, the Constitution Bench reserved its judgment on September 29, 2022. During the hearing, the Supreme Court said that it would determine what rules should be followed while dissolving marriages directly under Article 142. Additionally, the court also wants to clarify whether its special powers under Article 142 would extend to all divorce cases.