A mutual consent divorce under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (Section 28 of the Special Marriage Act for civil and inter-faith marriages) ordinarily requires the second motion to be made after six months and within eighteen months of the petition. The six-month interval may be waived by the court. These are motion deadlines, not a promise about when the decree will be passed. Eligibility, including the ordinary one-year separation requirement, and the court's timetable also matter.
Which court, and which one of them
The petition goes to the Family Court, which under Section 7 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 exercises the whole of the district court's matrimonial jurisdiction; where none has been established, the district court hears it. Section 19 of the Hindu Marriage Act decides which court that is: where the marriage was solemnised, where the respondent resides, where you last resided together, where the wife is residing if she is the petitioner, or where the petitioner resides if the respondent is abroad. Most couples have a real choice, and it is worth making deliberately, because it decides how far each of you travels for every hearing. In Bengaluru the Family Courts sit in the Nyaya Degula building on H. Siddaiah Road, Shanthinagar.
What actually goes into the file
- The joint petition, verified and signed by both spouses, pleading the date of marriage, the date of separation and the fact of agreement
- Proof of marriage: the registration certificate, or the invitation card, purohit's certificate and wedding photographs where it was solemnised by ceremony alone
- Identity and address proof for both, and passport copies where either of you is overseas
- The settlement or memorandum of understanding, covering alimony, custody, visitation, streedhan, property and the withdrawal of every pending case between the families
- Affidavits of assets and liabilities from both sides
- Vakalatnamas, and a separate joint application for waiver of the cooling-off period if you intend to ask for one
| Stage | What happens | Period |
|---|---|---|
| First motion | Joint petition filed, statements recorded | Day one |
| Cooling off | Statutory interval before the second motion | 6 months minimum |
| Outer limit | Second motion must be moved within | 18 months |
| Second motion | Statements recorded afresh, consent confirmed | On the date fixed |
| Decree | Passed if consent subsists and terms are satisfied | Usually same day |
The two motions
- First motion. Both spouses file jointly and record their statements that the marriage has broken down, that they have been living separately for at least a year, and that they have agreed to dissolve it.
- Cooling-off period. Section 13B(2) then requires a gap of not less than six months and not more than eighteen months before the second motion.
- Second motion. Both spouses appear again and confirm their consent. If the court is satisfied, it passes the decree.
The six months is not always mandatory
In Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017) the Supreme Court held that the cooling-off period under Section 13B(2) is directory, not mandatory, and that a court can waive it where the parties have genuinely settled everything, where mediation has failed, and where there is no realistic chance of reconciliation. You apply for the waiver by moving an application, and it is not granted for the asking.
The Supreme Court went further in Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023), holding that it can itself dissolve a marriage that has irretrievably broken down, and waive the statutory period, in exercise of its power under Article 142 of the Constitution. That is a jurisdiction only the Supreme Court has. A Family Court in Bengaluru cannot dissolve a marriage on breakdown alone, so the practical route for everyone else remains the waiver application before the same court that took the first motion.
Mediation is part of the process, not a diversion from it
Section 23(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act and Section 9 of the Family Courts Act both oblige the court to attempt reconciliation before granting relief, so expect a reference. In Bengaluru matters commonly go to the Karnataka Mediation Centre at Nyaya Degula, Siddaiah Road, known as the Bangalore Mediation Centre until it was renamed with effect from 1 January 2024. Where the sticking point is money or access to a child rather than the marriage itself, that is usually where it gets solved.
A clean, written settlement on every issue before you file. Alimony, custody, visitation, streedhan, property, who withdraws which pending case. Half-settled terms are the single biggest cause of delay, because the court will not pass a decree on a settlement that leaves live disputes hanging.
Where it slows down
- The one-year separation requirement. You must have lived separately for at least a year before filing. Living separately means separate lives, not necessarily separate addresses.
- Non-appearance. Both spouses must appear at both motions. If one is abroad, that needs planning.
- Withdrawal of consent. Either spouse can withdraw before the second motion, and a court cannot force a mutual decree on an unwilling party.
- The one year bar on filing at all. Section 14 of the Hindu Marriage Act prevents a divorce petition within one year of the marriage, except with the court's leave on the ground of exceptional hardship or exceptional depravity. Very young marriages therefore need a separate application before the petition can even be entertained.
Settling the money in one go
Where the paying spouse can raise the funds, a one time lump sum settlement is usually the cleanest way to close a mutual consent divorce, because it ends the financial relationship on the day of the decree instead of leaving a monthly obligation to be chased, varied and executed for years. Record the figure and the mode of payment in the petition itself, and tender payment at or before the second motion so the court can note satisfaction on the record. Cheques handed over outside court, without a corresponding recital, are how these settlements come apart.
The cost, and what to do the day the decree is passed
The court fee on a matrimonial petition in Karnataka is a fixed amount under Schedule II of the Karnataka Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1958, not a percentage of the alimony or the property, so the fee is never the reason a divorce is expensive. Professional fees are, and they move with how much drafting and negotiation the settlement needs; the separate answer on what a divorce costs and how long it takes breaks the components down.
Once the decree is passed, apply immediately for certified copies. You will need them for the change of name, for bank, insurance, PF and passport records, and for any later marriage. Note also that under Section 19(2) of the Family Courts Act a decree passed with the consent of the parties is not appealable, which is one more reason to get the settlement terms right before you sign rather than after.