Overview
- Ruling on December 17, a full bench of Justices Navin Chawla, Anup Jairam Bhambhani and Renu Bhatnagar held that the one-year separation requirement under Section 13B(1) is directory and may be waived via the proviso to Section 14(1).
- The six-month cooling-off period under Section 13B(2) can also be waived on its own merits, and where both timelines are waived a divorce decree may take effect immediately.
- Both Family Courts and the High Court are empowered to consider and grant waivers in appropriate cases.
- The judgment overrules earlier Delhi High Court views that treated Section 13B as a complete code that excluded use of the Section 14(1) proviso for mutual-consent petitions.
- Courts must confirm free and informed consent, absence of coercion and truly exceptional circumstances, with misrepresentation enabling deferral of the decree’s effective date or dismissal without prejudice to refiling after one year.