MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE
Section 13 B of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides for the relief of divorce by mutual consent between a Hindu wife and husband. The conditions for filing of this petition are:
1) A Petition of this nature can be filed only after 1 year from the date of marriage.
2) Parties should have been living separately for a period of 1 year or more.
Once the Petition is filed, parties have to wait for 6 months before the court can take up further proceedings in the matter. The period of 6 months cannot be dispensed by the family court or High court. The same can be done only by the Supreme Court. Court needs to give the decision on the matter before 18 months from the date of filing of the petition.
The Petition for a mutual consent divorce needs to be filed before the jurisdictional family court where:
a. The parties got married or
b. The parties last resided together as husband and wife.
The presence of both parties will be required at the time of filing and some other important hearings.
The basic documents required for the process includes:
1) Marriage photo.
2) Marriage Invitation card.
3) Marriage Certificate.
4) Address Proof of parties.
On an average it will take about 6-8 months for the conclusion of the mutual consent divorce process.