Mutual Consent Divorce Under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Varying Judicial Responses: Critical Study

Amit Choudhary; Tarun Chauhan

Mutual Consent Divorce Under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Varying Judicial Responses: Critical Study

Author(s)	Dr. Amit Choudhary, Tarun Chauhan
Country	India
Abstract	Divorce by mutual consent under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 represents one of the clearest movements of Indian matrimonial law from a purely fault-oriented model towards a more autonomy-based and settlement-oriented model. Section 13B recognises that a marriage may fail not because one spouse is legally blameworthy, but because both parties accept that the marital relationship has ceased to have social, emotional and practical substance. Yet, the provision does not treat consent as a mere private contract. It subjects mutual consent divorce to statutory conditions, judicial satisfaction, a first motion, a second motion, a waiting period and inquiry into the truth and voluntariness of the averments. This paper critically studies the statutory scheme and the varying judicial responses to Section 13B, particularly on three issues: continuation and withdrawal of consent, waiver of the six-month cooling-off period, and the use of constitutional powers to dissolve dead marriages. The central argument is that Indian courts have gradually moved from procedural rigidity to purposive flexibility, but the law still needs clearer statutory standards to ensure that speed does not defeat fairness and that protection does not become unnecessary compulsion.
Keywords	Mutual consent divorce; Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; Section 13B; cooling-off period; withdrawal of consent; irretrievable breakdown of marriage; Article 142; Family Court; matrimonial settlement.
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 3, May-June 2026
Published On	2026-05-22

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Mutual Consent Divorce Under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Varying Judicial Responses: Critical Study

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