The Allahabad High Court has held that the family court ought not to reject an application filed for waving of the statutory six-month cooling off period in divorce proceedings under Section 13B (2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 in a mechanical manner.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal placed reliance on an earlier decision of the bench headed by Justice Singh in Vijay Agarwal v. Smt. Suchita Bansal, in which the Court had held that the cooling off period under the provision is not mandatory. It is merely directory, and the discretion to waive the cooling-off period rests with the Court.
The Court noted that the Family Court had made a ‘superficial observation’ related to the parties living separately for over a period of more than a year. The Family Court had observed that the parties should have taken more time to rethink their stance related to their marriage while rejecting their application. On the aforesaid observation of the Family Court, the High observed;
“Other than a bald observation that the parties should have taken more time to reconsider their position and their stand qua their marriage, no fact discussion has emerged in the order as may allow this Court to reach a conclusion that the learned court below had found a firm opinion that it was not in the interest of the parties and in the interest of the justice to waive off the requirement of six months.”
While directing the Family Court to pass a new order, the Court observed that reliance placed on a judgment could not be rejected merely because the parties had not presented a copy of the judgment they were relying on.
News Source: https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/allahabad-high-court/allahabad-high-court-mutual-divorce-cooling-off-period-waiver-family-court-238368